Onion DNA experiment - #6 filter necessary or any cone?

[leilanni]

Hi I'm finding it difficult to find #6 cone coffee filters . . .#4 is more common, would that be an acceptable substitution? (For extracting onion DNA) I'm not sure if the difference is only in size or in thickness. Thank you!

[MadelineB]

Hello and welcome to Science Buddies,

If this is the project
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... #procedure
it looks like the #6 filter is suggested because of the size (volume). The procedure section indicates that the mixture will filter very slowly and you should try to keep the foam from getting into the filtrate, i.e. not to overflow the filter.

If you use the #4 filter, it will hold less of the mixture while you're waiting for it to drip out so it will take longer to get all of the mixture in.

The materials section does say that you could use 4 layers of cheese cloth instead of the #6 filters.

This looks like a fun project! Good luck and be sure to come back if you have more questions.

[leilanni]

Thank you so much for your reply! Yes, that is the correct project We are experiencing first-hand that a smaller filter and funnel will be excruciating We will look for a bigger filter/funnel! Thanks again!