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At least according to a few sources Prozyme and Protocols-Online, it is possible to reuse desalting columns and since I'm cheap I would like to also.

Key things seem to be washing with several column volumes of your buffer of choice. Also certain columns like crosslinked desalting columns are not amenable to regeneration. I'm curious about other factors.

I'm mainly using Bio-Rad micro-spins

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Regardless of what protocol you use, and what the advertised efficacy of that protocol might be, in any situation like this I think the important thing to consider is: what would happen if the material taken from a re-used column was contaminated by a previous application? Can you live with the consequences of such contamination?

If you are preparing DNA for further use (PCR and/or cloning and/or transformation) then you run the risk of propagating a contaminant through subsequent steps and getting into a real mess. I worked in a lab once where one postgrad ended up spending several weeks working with a cloned fragment that was actually derived from someone else's work in the same lab (although not due to re-use of a column as far as I remember).

If you are preparing protein samples then the risks are possibly reduced, but if the protein sample is going to be subjected to sensitive methods (blotting, MS) then again, could get messy.

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