RNA Isolation/Purification

The isolation and purification of RNA is challenging due to the delicate nature of RNA. Extracting total RNA, mRNA, or small RNA while avoiding contamination requires the careful selection of reagents and kits. Some of the numerous source-specific kits are available for isolation from blood, tissue, cultured cells, and plants. If isolating protein along with the RNA is desired, Ambion® PARIS™ kits from Life Technologies™ are available for comparison. Phenol is customarily used in RNA biology, but it is a hazardous reagent. Phenol-free. reliable and high-speed small RNA (ie, miRNA, siRNA) isolation kits are available. Some kits, like mirPremier® microRNA Isolation Kit from Sigma-Aldrich, are not specific to tissue or cell type. When comparing the range of RNA isolation and purification kits on hand, also take into account the number of preparations each kit offers.