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Updated: Aug 25, 2026
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Removal of Exogenous Materials from the Outer Portion of Frozen Cores to Investigate the Ancient Biological Communities Harbored Inside
Published on: July 3, 2016
Comparisons of protocols for decontamination of environmental ice samples for biological and molecular examinations
S O Rogers1, V Theraisnathan, L J Ma
1Department of Biological Sciences, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio 43403, USA. srogers@bgnet.bgsu.edu
Applied and Environmental Microbiology
|April 7, 2004
Abstract:
Drilling and laboratory manipulations of glacial ice cores introduce contemporary microbes and biomolecules onto the cores. We report herein a systematic comparative study of several decontamination protocols. Only treatment with 5% sodium hypochlorite eliminated all external contaminating microbes and nucleic acids while maintaining the integrity of those within the cores.
