Sample Preparation and Isolation of RNA or DNA

Freshly Frozen and RNAlater®/RNARetain™-treated Tissues

Asuragen routinely isolates nucleic acid from a wide variety of sample types including plant tissue, human and other animal tissues, cell lines, blood, and bacteria. In addition, we have significant experience isolating nucleic acids from tissues that have undergone a variety of preservation processes including fresh, frozen, RNAlater-treated, OCT-embedded, and formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) . Learn more about how we qualify our methods and staff.

Not all tissues are equal. Consult with our experts to discuss your tissue types, tissue processing, and any downstream applications to obtain a better understanding of the amount of tissues required for your experimental design.

Description of Services

Features of these sample prep services:

  • RNA isolation methods optimized to recover miRNA
  • Asuragen-isolated RNA or DNA suitable for numerous downstream applications, including expression profiling and genotyping studies (additional services)
  • Basic histology services also available

Workflow for sample prep:

  • Tissue disruption
  • Organic extraction-based isolation and cleanup
  • DNAse treatment (if applicable)
  • QC by NanoDrop spectrophotometer and Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer
  • Re-purification and/or concentration if required

Automation

Deliverables

Regardless of downstream application, detailed QC reports including nucleic acid concentration, RNA integrity (RIN) and electropherograms (where applicable), and purity are provided on each sample. Purified nucleic acid samples are shipped back to you on dry ice. Asuragen ships samples Monday through Wednesday and will notify you upon shipment.

Isolation services are often utilized with Asuragen’s gene expression services, miRNA profiling services, or genotyping services. Surplus RNA or DNA will be discarded unless otherwise requested. Additional shipping charges may apply for the return of residual blocks, RNA, or DNA.

Quality Control

No matter how robust the downstream processes, good data is dependent on sample quality; consequently, accurate measurement of sample quality is essential before deciding if a sample merits further analysis.

For RNA

All samples prepared by Asuragen Services are routinely qualified by spectrophotometry with the NanoDrop spectrophotometer and the Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer. If you have chosen to use Asuragen Services for additional services and a sample does not pass the recommended QC metrics for analysis, you will be contacted promptly to discuss possible solutions. These may include replacing the sample or re-isolating the RNA, excluding the sample from further analysis, or proceeding at-risk.

High Quality RNA

RNA

RNA was isolated from colon tumor tissue by Asuragen and run on the Agilent 2100 BioAnalyzer to show integrity (red line). The same RNA was incubated overnight at 37°C to show stability (blue line). This data shows that there was no change in RNA quality and integrity after extended incubation.

For DNA

All DNA samples prepared by Asuragen Services are routinely qualified by spectrophotometry with the NanoDrop spectrophotometer and gel electrophoresis. Due to the degraded nature of DNA from FFPE tissues, special quality control measurements are used.

These rigorous procedures enable Asuragen to be the only service provider to offer a Data Quality Guarantee:

If, for any reason, a qualified sample does not pass our process control specifications, we will re-run the sample at no additional charge.

Read more about our commitment to the best possible data quality, or read about our contributions to in-process controls and standardization.

Turn-around Time

Most projects are completed in one to two weeks. If you have a critical time requirement, we can often meet your need for no additional charge. Read more about our commitment to prompt turn-around times.

Typical Yields

Human Tissue Standard Yields*

yields

Rodent Tissue Standard Yields*

tissue


* Yield information derived from large scale preps; these values should be used as a nominal guide. Please consult with our technical experts prior to submitting samples.

Additional Services Available

mRNA Analysis:

Affymetrix Gene Expression Profiling Service
Illumina Gene Expression Profiling Services
Applied Biosystems TaqMan Gene Expression Services

miRNA Analysis:

Ambion/Affymetrix DiscovArray miRNA Expression Profiling
Agilent miRNA Microarray Service
Applied Biosystems TaqMan miRNA Expression Services

DNA Analysis:

Agilent aCGH
Affymetrix SNP 6.0 - coming soon

Data Analysis:

Asuragen’s Informatics Team offers a broad range of analytical services to help you get the most information from your data.

Catalog Numbers for Frozen/RNAlater/RNARetain-treated Tissues Sample Prep Services

CA0009 Isolation, Total RNA from fresh tissue
CA0025 Isolation, DNA

Requirements for Frozen/RNAlater/RNARetain-treated Tissues Sample Prep and Related Services

Sample Input Requirements for the services listed above are found in the Sample Submission Form and Shipping Instructions.

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