Dissolving DNA Oligos - (Jan/10/2014 )

Hi all,

I have some DNA oligos I need to dissolve before annealing. To make the Duplex Buffer (100mM Potassium Acetate; 30mM HEPES, pH 7.5) to dissolve them, can I use ddH2O or do I need DEPC treated water? 

Also, does it have to be sterile water?

Thanks.

DEPC water is only useful for RNA stuff, you can just use ddH2O or any of the MilliQ equivalents.  TE or TLE are better options though, as they keep the DNA more stable.

As Bob1 suggested, dissolving the oligos at 100 mM in TE would be my first step. This makes a solution which is stable and can be kept frozen for very long periods of time. The duplex can then be made (at lower concentration) by mixing these oligos with 10x duplexing buffer followed by annealing. As he says, DEPC treatment is only relevant for RNA work. Any good quality water will do.