aDNA Clean Lab

The IEM Clean Lab that was established in collaboration with the Swiss Science Foundation (SNSF) in 2010, is a state-of-the-art laboratory for the extraction and analysis of ancient DNA from historical samples such as bone, mummified tissue or coprolites.

To minimise contamination – apart from the constantly updated protocols of extraction and PCR – the access to this clean lab has been exclusively restricted to the main researchers of the Ancient Biomolecular Group here at the IEM.

After an entry room follows another room that serves as a staging area for smaller procedures. And only after the second set of doors are you in the controlled setting of the clean lab itself. Airflow is controlled and so is pressure. An additional system of UV lights to decontaminate the major installations has been installed too.