Sorbent material for separating bio-macromolecules

A method of making a sorbent material comprising silanized silica at least partially coated with poly(benzyl methacrylate), the method comprising:

• suspending silica in a solution of dimethylvinylchlorosilane in trifluorotoluene;
• removing the liquid and resuspending the silica in a fresh solution of dimethylvinylchlorosilane in trifluorotoluene;
• optionally removing the liquid and resuspending the silica again in a fresh 5% solution of dimethylvinylchlorosilane in trifluorotoluene;
• collecting and drying the resulting silanized silica;
• adding the silanized silica, benzylmethacrylate and potassium peroxodisulfateto a stirred solution of sodium stearate in water;
• and
• collecting and drying the resultant sorbent material comprising silanized silica coated with poly(benzyl methacrylate).

A dual processing device for lysing a biological sample and isolating nucleic acids from the biological sample, the device comprising:

• a sample input unit;
• a sample lysis unit;
• a nucleic acid extraction unit;
• and
• a nucleic acid reception unit;
• wherein the nucleic acid extraction unit comprises a silanized material at least partially coated or formed with a polymer selected from the group consisting of a poly(aryl methacrylate), a poly(aryl acrylate), a poly(heteroaryl methacrylate, a poly(heteroaryl acrylate) and a copolymer thereof, wherein the silanzied material is configured to retain proteins and other non-nucleic acids from the biological sample and allow the nucleic acids to pass through into the nucleic acid reception unit.