Comparative assessment of automated nucleic acid sample extraction equipment for biothreat agents.

Magnetic beads offer superior impurity removal and nucleic acid selection over older extraction methods. The performances of nucleic acid extraction of biothreat agents in blood or buffer by easyMAG, MagNA Pure, EZ1 Advanced XL, and Nordiag Arrow were evaluated. All instruments showed excellent performance in blood; however, the easyMAG had the best precision and versatility.