Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues are a source of biological material for molecular studies; several methods to extract DNA from FFPE tissues have been reported. This process is challenging because of formaldehyde-induced cross-linking between proteins and DNA as well as molecule fragmentation when unbuffered formalin is used for fixation. Here, 2 methods for DNA extraction from FFPE tissues, based on a chelating resin and silica membrane columns, were modified and compared in their capacity to detect human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) in congenital infections. Both methods were tested on 121 samples of brain, lung, spleen, and liver derived from 36 deceased preterm newborns. Twelve patients were selected, and UL55 and UL75 HCMV genes were detected by polymerase chain reaction in 16/36 samples. These 2 methods represent a useful tool for DNA recovery from FFPE tissues and HCMV molecular identification with the advantage of low cost, minimal steps, minimal sample use, being solvent-free, and being easy to implement in the laboratory.

福尔马林固定石蜡包埋（FFPE）组织是用于分子研究的生物材料的来源。已经报道了几种从FFPE组织中提取DNA的方法。由于甲醛诱导的蛋白质和DNA之间的交联以及无缓冲福尔马林固定时的分子断裂，因此这一过程具有挑战性。在此，对两种基于螯合树脂和硅胶膜柱的从FFPE组织中提取DNA的方法进行了修改，并比较了它们在先天性感染中检测人巨细胞病毒（HCMV）的能力。两种方法均在来自36例早产儿的脑，肺，脾和肝的121个样品上进行了测试。选择12名患者，并通过聚合酶链反应在16/36个样本中检测到UL55和UL75 HCMV基因。