Talk:DNA stability

Does anyone know stability of DNA under High Ph and high temperature. What about dry DNA? Can it survive high temperature? about 80 degrees?

• Austin Che 10:12, 20 December 2007 (CST): I have added NaOH to 100mM to DNA, heated for only a couple minutes at 95, neutralized with HCl, and then run DNA on a gel and it looks all smeared. My general feeling is that it's not a good idea to go this extreme. There's also an effect of salt. Higher salt protects DNA, perhaps by keeping it double stranded. I've tried heating DNA in various buffers and there's a wide range of temperatures at which DNA appears to be stable. DNA was pretty stable around 80 degrees in most buffers and not so great above 90. I've not tried any tests with dried DNA.