The MagMAX™-96 for Microarrays Total RNA Isolation Kit combines TRI Reagent® Solution and the Ambion® MagMAX bead-based technology to recover high-quality RNA ideal for use on microarrays. Now, with a minor protocol modification, miRNAs can be isolated using this kit as well—the time required and the high throughput format remain unchanged.

  • Purify high yields of quality RNA including miRNAs from frozen tissues, tissues stored in RNAlater® Solution, and cells
  • Recover RNA samples in 20–50 µL
  • Suitable for real-time RT-PCR or array analysis

How to Recover Total RNA Containing Small RNAs

The modified MagMAX for Microarrays protocol was used with mouse liver stored in RNAlater Solution, frozen mouse heart, and frozen mouse spleen. Briefly, tissues were homogenized in TRI Reagent Solution at a concentration of 50 mg/mL. Bromochloropropane was then added to remove proteins, lipids, and DNA. One-fifth of the aqueous phase was isolated per well using the MagMAX for Microarrays Kit. To recover miRNAs, 1.25 volumes of isopropanol was added to the aqueous phase instead of the standard half volume. The remainder of the protocol was not altered from the original MagMAX for Microarrays protocol.

Figure 1. Obtain High Quality RNA Using the MagMAX™-96 for Microarrays Total RNA Isolation Kit. Electropherograms were generated with the Agilent® 2100 bioanalyzer. The strong peak at 85 nucleotides likely represents small RNAs such 5S rRNA and tRNA. The peaks at 1800 nucleotides and 3600 nucleotides represent 18S rRNA and 28S rRNA, respectively. The A260/A280 absorbance data was obtained using a NanoDrop® spectrophotometer.

  ng/µL µg yield A260/
A280		 28S/18S rRNA RIN
RNAlater®
Solution, Liver		1583.2171.242.141.37.3
Frozen, Heartcell2cell3cell4cell5cell5
Frozen, Spleencell2cell3cell4cell5cell5


The presence of miRNAs was further verified using Applied Biosystems TaqMan® MicroRNA Assays (Figure 2). Recovery of miRNAs using the modified MagMAX for Microarrays protocol was compared to traditional mirVana™ miRNA isolation methods using assays for 3 mature miRNAs. As no significant differences were detected between these methodologies, we conclude that this protocol modification supports efficient miRNA isolation for high throughput experiments.

High yields of pure, intact total RNA containing miRNAs can be used in standard real-time RT-PCR assays (TaqMan® Gene Expression Assays) and real-time RT-PCR assays targeting mature microRNAs (TaqMan MicroRNA Assays). The RNA samples can also be used for analysis on mirVana miRNA Bioarrays.

Scientific Contributors
Nathan Harris, Adam Toguchi • Applied Biosystems, Austin, TX

For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.