QIAsymphony RNA Kit

Automated purification of RNA on the QIAsymphony SP is highly reproducible and yields of high-quality RNA from cultured cells, tissues, and FFPE tissues are comparable to those obtained using a manual purification procedure (see figure "Reproducible purification of RNA"). The QIAsymphony protocols for total RNA purification primarily enrich for RNA molecules longer than 200 nucleotides, including mRNA (see figure "Highly pure, intact RNA"). The QIAsymphony miRNA protocol also purifies total RNA but does not exclude RNAs <200 nucleotides such as miRNAs and other small RNAs (see figure "Automated purification comparable to manual procedure").

The QIAsymphony RNA Kit combines the speed and efficiency of silica-based technology with the convenient handling of magnetic particles (see figure "Efficient handling of magnetic particles") for purification of total RNA >200 nucleotides, or total RNA including miRNA and other small RNAs after proteinase K treatment. Starting material includes animal cells and tissues. With some additional components, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues can also be processed with the kit. Samples are lysed and RNA is purified from lysates in one step through its binding to the silica surface of the particles in the presence of a chaotropic salt. The particles are separated from the lysates using a magnet and DNA is removed by treatment with RNase-free DNase. The magnetic particles are efficiently washed, and RNA is eluted in RNase-free water.

Innovative, ready-to-run reagent cartridges are prefilled with magnetic particles and all reagents required for the purification procedure, including accessory enzymes. The cartridges are automatically opened by the QIAsymphony SP helping to minimize the risk of environmental contamination (see figure "Prefilled, sealed reagent cartridges"). Worktable setup is rapid, which saves your valuable time. Simply place up to 2 reagent cartridges in the consumables drawer. The reagent cartridges can be either from the same kit or from different kits, enabling different purification procedures to be performed within the same run of 96 samples. Reagent volumes only for the selected number of samples are used, giving you complete cost control. The purification procedure comprises 4 steps: lyse, bind, wash, and elute. A number of protocols is available for the QIAsymphony SP for purifying RNA, depending on the starting material and the required RNA product (see table).

Protocols for purification of RNA with the QIAsymphony SP instrument

* Proteinase K required; can be ordered separately.
^† Additional components required; can be ordered separately.
^‡ Values in parentheses indicate maximum number of samples that can be processed with kit/protocol combination.

Protocol	Running with	Sample material (Pretreated sample lysates)	Processed volume (μl)
RNA CT 400	QIAsymphony RNA Kit (2 x 96)‡	≤3 x 106 cultured cells ≤20 mg easy-to-lyse tissue	400 μl
RNA CT 800	QIAsymphony RNA Kit (2 x 48)‡	3 x 106–1 x 107 cultured cells ≤50 mg easy-to-lyse tissue	800 μl
RNA FT 400*	QIAsymphony RNA Kit (2 x 96)‡	≤20 mg fibrous tissue	400 μl
miRNA CT 400*	QIAsymphony RNA Kit (2 x 96)‡	≤3 x 106 cultured cells ≤20 mg tissue	400 μl
RNA FFPE 130†	QIAsymphony RNA Kit (2 x 72)‡	1–2 x FFPE sections up to 10 μm 1 x FFPE section 20 μm	130 μl

The QIAsymphony RNA Kit, and fully automated purification of total RNA on the QIAsymphony SP, provides high-quality RNA suitable for direct use in any downstream application.