Evaluation of three methods for effective extraction of DNA from human hair

In this paper we evaluate three different methods for extracting DNA from human hair i.e. the Chelex method, the QIAamp® DNA Mini Kit method and the ISOHAIR® method. Analysis of DNA prepared from dyed hairs with the ISOHAIR® method suggested that the DNA extracts contained PCR inhibitors. On the other hand, few inhibition was observed when DNA from dyed hairs were extracted using the Chelex method and the QIAamp® DNA Mini Kit method. In conclusion, the Chelex method is recommended for PCR experiments in view of its simplicity and cost-effectiveness. To assess the reliability of the Chelex method for the extraction of genomic DNA from both natural and dyed hair samples, minisatellite variant repeat (MVR)-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) patterns of Chelex-extracted DNA were compared using hairs (three natural black hairs and three dyed hairs) with buccal swabs from six individuals. Complete agreement was observed between hair and swab samples in each individual, proving the utility of the Chelex method.