> Anybody know if I can do a DNA test on food at home? How can I build a lab at home?
A MinION sequencer from Oxford Nanopore is $1000. With this alone (and a kit of chemicals and enzymes to prepare the sample) you can sequence DNA, but sequencing a random piece of DNA may not help you in identifying the animal or plant species used in a food product.
So probably you need to use PCR to amplify a suitable piece of DNA, so you know what you are sequencing. For this you need enzymes, which probably cost in tens or hundreds of dollars for each use, and then in principle you can do PCR "by hand" (I have done this) with the enzymes, some test tubes and 3 water baths kept controlled in certain temperatures. Or buy a machine that cycles the temperature in a controlled manner. They are really just thermal cyclers, but they are commonly known as "PCR machines". You can get a used one for about $1000.
Then at least one micropopipette (surprisingly expensive, almost $200, or buy used) and some glassware etc.
If you have the knowledge, $3000 to $5000 should have you up and running. Some stuff, like enzymes, are consumable, so you need to use more money to restock when the lab is running.
A MinION sequencer from Oxford Nanopore is $1000. With this alone (and a kit of chemicals and enzymes to prepare the sample) you can sequence DNA, but sequencing a random piece of DNA may not help you in identifying the animal or plant species used in a food product.
So probably you need to use PCR to amplify a suitable piece of DNA, so you know what you are sequencing. For this you need enzymes, which probably cost in tens or hundreds of dollars for each use, and then in principle you can do PCR "by hand" (I have done this) with the enzymes, some test tubes and 3 water baths kept controlled in certain temperatures. Or buy a machine that cycles the temperature in a controlled manner. They are really just thermal cyclers, but they are commonly known as "PCR machines". You can get a used one for about $1000.
Then at least one micropopipette (surprisingly expensive, almost $200, or buy used) and some glassware etc.
If you have the knowledge, $3000 to $5000 should have you up and running. Some stuff, like enzymes, are consumable, so you need to use more money to restock when the lab is running.