SRM University is a research-intensive institution with a growing focus on translational biomedical science. Within its molecular biology division, Dr. Ramkumar K M's lab has built a reputation for rigorous work at the frontier of epigenetic research investigating DNA methylation and histone modification as key regulators in type 2 diabetes and its complications. Precision at every step of the workflow is essential: the questions they are asking, demands DNA of the highest quality, and the tools they use must keep pace.

The research and the challenge

Dr. Ram's team works on understanding how epigenetic marks - particularly methylation patterns - contribute to the onset and progression of type 2 diabetes. More recently, the lab has expanded its focus to epigenetic reversal: identifying molecules capable of unwinding specific methylation changes, with the long-term goal of identifying therapeutic targets.

This kind of work puts unusual demands on DNA purification. Downstream assays including bisulfite sequencing and ChIP-seq are exquisitely sensitive to sample quality, and carryover of salts, enzymes, or fragmented DNA can confound results or derail entire experimental batches. For some time, the team relied on traditional column-based purification methods.

"We struggled with traditional column-based methods," says Dr. Ram.

Recovery was inconsistent, hands-on time was significant, and the protocols offered little flexibility when fragment size targets varied between experiments. For a lab running multiple epigenetic applications in parallel, the rigidity was a real constraint.

Dr. Ram identified CamSelect NGS - a magnetic bead-based DNA cleanup and size selection system designed for flexible NGS workflows - as a potential fit for his purification workflow.

"This method has allowed us to get high-quality DNA - reliably and more efficiently," he explains.

The isolated DNA performed cleanly in downstream operations including sequencing, without the losses or contamination issues the team had previously managed around. Critically, no protocol revalidation was required - CamSelect NGS slotted into existing workflows without disruption.

The improvements were felt across three dimensions. First, DNA quality: purity was markedly better, with cleaner profiles going into methylation and sequencing assays. Second, flexibility: CamSelect's ability to modify the elution step and tune recovery based on target DNA size gave the team a level of adaptability that column methods simply couldn't offer. "We can modify the elution protocol based on our targets - and that's more interesting," says Dr. Ram.

Third, and perhaps most immediately felt day-to-day: hands-on time dropped substantially.

The one-step, magnetic stand-based protocol eliminated the centrifugation and column handling that had previously fragmented the team's time. Across a research lab running complex, multi-step epigenetic workflows, that efficiency compounds quickly.

Looking ahead

With CamSelect NGS now embedded in their standard purification workflow, Dr. Ram's lab is pressing forward on its most ambitious research yet - identifying and characterising molecules capable of reversing specific methylation patterns in diabetes-related tissues. The work demands the kind of consistent, high-purity DNA that the team now takes for granted.

"The isolated DNA performs perfectly in our downstream operations, including sequencing," says Dr. Ram.

For SRM University's epigenetics programme, CamSelect NGS has become more than a reagent - it is a reliable foundation on which increasingly ambitious research is being built.

CamSelect NGS is a magnetic bead–based nucleic acid purification product manufactured under ISO 13485, designed for PCR clean-up, size selection, and amplicon purification across NGS and epigenomics applications. 

Get more information here.