I would avoid phenol/chloroform/isoamyl for at home use. There isn't a need for it if you have spin kits or other DNA isolation kits. Spin kits can give you clean DNA without exposure to nasty organic solvents, and take no time at all to do. I just poured over the MSDS sheets for the Omega Bio-tek kit as well as the Wizard Genomic from Promega which I mentioned earlier.
The only dangerous components listed on the Wizard kit were Tris, which is an irritant, and Ammonium Acetate, which is also an irritant. It's an isolation kit that doesn't use silica columns.
As for extra needed solvents and equipment, this was listed in the protocol handbook.
• sterile 1.5ml microcentrifuge tubes (for 300µl blood samples)
• sterile 15ml centrifuge tubes (for 3ml blood samples)
• water bath, 37°C
• isopropanol, room temperature
• 70% ethanol, room temperature
• water bath, 65°C (optional, for rapid DNA rehydration)
the 70% ethanol may or may not be easier/cheaper to get than the 100% ethanol required for the Omega spin kit.
The Omega spin kit you listed, if you look at their MSDS, http://www.omegabiotek.com/files/resource/Msds/69614600.pdf
then hit CTRL F to do a search function and type in "hazardous component" you will see there are 6 hits.
Omega seems to use some other things, guanidine hydrochloride, NaOH, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and then there is this listed in their Elution buffer MSDS
You also need 100% ethanol (95%+ works) to add to their spin kit solutions, but again, non denatured.
Hazardous Components: According to OSHR 29 CFR & 1910.1200, any mixture that contains less
than 1% by weight or volume of a non-carcinogenic hazardous
component is not considered hazardous, unless there is evidence to the
contrary. We do not consider Solution I to be hazardous. However
gloves, lab coats and protective eyewear are recommended when using any chemical reagents.
They also have this in their wash buffer - PNP, I think might be this http://www.chemicalland21.com/industrialchem/solalc/PROPYLENE%20GLYCOL%20MONOPROPYL%20ETHER.htm
According to OSHR 29 CFR & 1910.1200, any mixture that contains less
than 1% by weight or volume of a non-carcinogenic hazardous
component is not considered hazardous, unless there is evidence to the
contrary. We do not consider PNP to be hazardous. However
gloves, lab coats and protective eyewear are recommended when using
any chemical reagents.
========
To be fair, MSDS's usually make things out to sound 100x more nasty then they really are. I think even water's MSDS could say deadly if enough is ingested. They are good to look at though, as they let you know what is in the reagents you plan on purchasing. It is better to be over-informed then under informed.
This is one of the legitimate concerns some people have about at home science, maybe not referring entirely to DNA spin kits but....how are people going to handle waste disposal and exposure? Granted, I've seen people dumping out gas in their back yard and leaving buckets of transmission fluid in a corner for years letting rainwater slowly wash it around, so dumping 500uL of a DNA isolation solution down the drain pales in comparison, but is it still wrong to do?
Furthermore, I doubt a legit chemical waste disposal company would even take waste from an individual. I was under the impression you needed to be a school or business and setup a contract, but I don't know. Maybe your DPW's annual hazardous waste cleanup day?
I'd get in touch with a local high school teacher, maybe they would let you and your daughter use the labspace at the highschool some weekend, you can bring in your equipment, and use their waste stream. You'd get to teach your daughter things in a safe lab place, and the teacher might get a brand new experiment to teach his/her bio class.
You knew what equipment to buy off the bat and your name is sticky ends, so I assume you know a bit about molecular bio?
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