RNAlater® Tissue Collection: RNA Stabilization Solution From Ambion

RNAlater® Tissue Collection: RNA Stabilization Solution is designed for the storage of fresh tissue in a manner that will ensure high quality RNA upon isolation. This is especially important in clinic settings where patient safety and well-being is the primary concern and methods for tissue collection need to be fast, simple and safe for the clinicians involved. Also, simple and efficient procedures for tissue collection can help motivate those involved in collaborations in clinical settings.

We purchased RNAlater® for our clinical studies where fresh tissue is collected during surgical procedures at clinic. We study retinoblastoma and the tissue we collected in the past was often not suitable for the isolation of RNA. The aim was to find a quick and easy way for clinicians to collect tissue and avoid the need for immediate transfer to a research laboratory while preserving the quality of the tissue for RNA and DNA isolation.

We isolate RNA from the RNA Stabilization Solution using the Trizol® method (Invitrogen). RNA was isolated in good quantities per weight of tissue (1-3 ug/mg of tissue) and had excellent quality by spectrophotometer (A260/A280 ranging between 1.85-2.00) and RT-PCR analysis. We were able to produce RT-PCR products as long as 1,200 bp. In trial experiments, genomic DNA was either isolated according to Ambion instructions (provided with the RNAlater® protocol) or recovered from the interphase of the Trizol® RNA extraction. Both methods produced similar yields of genomic DNA, however DNA recovered from Trizol® was of better quality and produced longer DNA fragments by PCR. Using Trizol® extraction for RNA and DNA also simplified our procedure by avoiding the need to split tissue at the beginning of the procedure.

RNAlater® is ideal for clinical diagnostic labs and research labs that use clinical samples. It is an easy to use, relatively harmless solution that can be prealiquoted for the clinic and stored at room temperature. We also recommend RNAlater® for tissue transportation since it does not require dry ice and urgent shipping. We use RNAlater® for the collection of all tissue samples at our clinic; we also recommend and provide this solution to all other sites that we collaborate with. RNAlater® Stabilization Solution is very affordable, saves on shipping when transportation of samples is involved, but most importantly, preserves the quality of precious clinic material for RNA and DNA analysis in diagnostic and research applications.