Phenol extraction

It may also refer to the process of extracting and isolating phenols from raw materials such as coal tar.

Phenol extraction is a widely used technique for purifying nucleic acid samples from cell lysates.

[3] The solution may then be centrifuged to separate the phenol and water into distinct organic and aqueous phases.

[4] Adding an equal volume of chloroform and phenol ensures a distinct separation between the aqueous and organic phases.

This addition of chloroform is useful when removing the aqueous phase to obtain a purified nucleic acid sample.