RNeasy Protect Mini Kit (50)

From QIAGEN, this kit is part of the RNeasy Protect system, which provides a complete RNA protection and isolation solution from sample harvesting to pure RNA. It combines the RNA-stabilizing properties of RNAprotect Tissue Reagent with RNeasy silica-membrane spin columns (binding capacity up to 100 µg RNA), enabling immediate stabilization of RNA in tissue samples to preserve the gene expression profile. Samples can be archived without risk of RNA degradation, even after multiple freeze–thaw cycles.

The kit supports tissue sample amounts of 0.5–30 mg, with typical total RNA yields of 10–45 µg depending on tissue type — for example, 10 mg of mouse brain yields 10 µg, liver yields 43 µg, lung yields 12 µg, and spleen yields 45 µg. Purified RNA is eluted in 30–100 µl of water and shows A260/A280 ratios of 1.9–2.1 (measured in 10 mM Tris·Cl, pH 7.5). The RNeasy procedure enriches for RNA species >200 nt, so 5S rRNA, tRNAs, and other low-molecular-weight RNAs are not included in the yield.

Tissue samples stabilized in RNAprotect Tissue Reagent can be archived under a range of conditions, including up to 1 day at 30°C, up to 7 days at room temperature, up to 28 days at 2–8°C, and long-term at –20°C or –80°C. Purified RNA is suitable for downstream applications including RNA-seq, PCR, qPCR, real-time RT-PCR, and microarray analysis. Processing is performed manually by centrifugation, and the workflow can be automated on the QIAcube Connect.