The FormaPure system extracts DNA and RNA from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue samples. The system can be automated on the Beckman Instruments Biomek NX Span-8 Laboratory Automation Workstation to process 96 samples in just four hours (including the paraffin digestion step), with high yields. It incorporates SPRI (Solid Phase Reversible Immobilization) paramagnetic bead-based nucleic acid purification technology, and does not require organic solvents, vacuum filtration or centrifugation steps. The system enables processing of from a few to as many as hundreds of samples per day.