Plasmid DNA for pharmaceutical applications

With the advent and progress of recombinant DNA technology into a variety of fields such as medical therapy, preventive or curative vaccination or the induction of regeneration, the demand for large quantities of highly purified DNA is increasing. Traditional methods of purifying plasmids usually require sophisticated methodology if the DNA is to be separated from RNA and other contaminating organic components. In particular, methods for obtaining supercoiled covalently closed circular (CCC) plasmid DNA in pure form, cope with the requirement that other plasmid topologies also produced have to be separated from the final product. The innovative technology of capillary gel electrophoresis (CGE) contributes a sensitive tool to the short list of applicable quality control assays for clinical grade plasmid DNA.