LifeGuard Soil Preservation (1000 ml)

QIAGEN's LifeGuard Soil Preservation Solution is a specially formulated treatment designed to protect the viability of bacteria in soil while keeping them in stasis. Intended for molecular biology applications, the solution is used to collect and transport soils needed for RNA or DNA extraction. By preventing RNase and DNase activity, the formulation supports accurate full-length cDNA synthesis and 16S rRNA profiling on samples collected under many field conditions.

The reagent can be stored at room temperature (15–25°C). According to the manufacturer, microbial community profiles are maintained in soils stabilized with the solution for up to 30 days at –15°C to –30°C, 2 weeks at 2–8°C, and 1 week at room temperature, while RNA integrity is maintained for up to 30 days at room temperature. Each lot is tested against predetermined specifications under QIAGEN's ISO-certified Quality Management System.

In the standard protocol, 2–2.5 volumes of the preservation solution are added per 1 g of soil, with 5 ml added to 2 g of soil when collecting directly in an RNeasy PowerSoil 15 ml PowerBead Tube. Sediment samples require 3 volumes of solution per gram of wet sample weight. After vortexing or hand-mixing until the sample is saturated, stabilized soils can be stored at room temperature, at 2–8°C, or at –15°C to –30°C. When ready to process, samples are centrifuged at 2500 x g for 5 min to collect the soil and the solution is removed. For long-term storage and transport beyond 30 days, stabilized soil should be stored at –15°C to –30°C.