Magnetic beads offer numerous advantages for isolating nucleic acid from cells and tissue and for isolating viral RNA from cell-free samples and whole blood:

  • Rapid, high throughput isolation of total nucleic acid without cumbersome pre-processing steps (Figure 1)
  • More consistent and higher RNA yields due to more efficient binding and elution of the RNA
  • No troublesome filter clogging
  • No sample cross contamination
  • Low elution volume concentrates RNA for convenient streamlining of downstream applications

Ambion’s family of MagMAX™ RNA Isolation Kits are designed to provide you with solutions for low and high throughput nucleic acid isolation from diverse samples. MagMAX Kits deliver high quality nucleic acid suitable for array analysis, quantitative PCR and RT-PCR, and Northern analysis.

High Throughput Total RNA Isolation

The MagMAX-96 Total RNA Isolation Kit is designed for high throughput isolation of viral and total RNA from mammalian cells, and small plant and mammalian tissue samples. Ambion’s TURBO DNase™ is included to improve genomic DNA removal for highly reproducible and consistent RNA recovery.


Figure 1. The MagMAX™ Procedure.

Low and High Throughput Viral RNA Isolation

The MagMAX-96 Viral RNA Isolation Kit has been optimized to provide better viral particle lysis and thus more effective recovery of viral RNA from a variety of cell free biological samples, including plasma, sera, and swabs. No organic solvents or RNA precipitation are required.

DNA and RNA input levels ranging from 20 copies to 25 x 106 copies can be quantitatively recovered from plasma, serum, and milk. Ambion also offers the MagMAX Viral RNA Isolation Kit. The kit contains enough reagents to perform 50 single tube reactions; up to 400 µl of sample can be processed.

RNA Isolation from Blood

RNA purification from blood requires a stringent isolation method that provides superior quality RNA depleted of inhibitors and contaminants. The MagMAX-96 Blood RNA Isolation Kit provides consistent yield, purity, and integrity of RNA isolated from up to 50 µl human whole blood. Many protocols for RNA from blood require pre-processing steps that can lead to sample mix up and/or cross contamination. The MagMAX-96 Blood RNA Isolation Kit eliminates the need for pre-processing and is designed for high throughput isolation of RNA using 96 well plates. The recovered viral or total RNA can be used directly for quantitative RT-PCR for gene expression profiling."> MagMAX-96 Blood RNA Isolation Kit provides consistent yield, purity, and integrity of RNA isolated from up to 50 µl human whole blood. Many protocols for RNA from blood require pre-processing steps that can lead to sample mix up and/or cross contamination. The MagMAX-96 Blood RNA Isolation Kit eliminates the need for pre-processing and is designed for high throughput isolation of RNA using 96 well plates. The recovered viral or total RNA can be used directly for quantitative RT-PCR for gene expression profiling.

RNA Isolation Specifically for Microarrays

The MagMAX-96 for Microarrays Total RNA Isolation Kit (patent pending) is designed for high throughput isolation of total RNA from mammalian cells and tissues in 96 well plates. It combines the gold standard for isolating RNA for use with microarrays, TRI Reagent (patented product), and Ambion’s MagMAX bead-based technology to provide superior quality RNA suitable for use on microarrays. By combining these two technologies, users achieve streamlined RNA purification, even in a high throughput format, while maintaining high yields of high quality RNA.

The procedure is fast (<1 hour), simple, and well suited for automation. The kit provides high yields of pure, intact RNA that can be used directly for quantitative RT-PCR and microarray analysis. Figure 2 demonstrates the high correlation between the Affymetrix recommended method for producing RNA for use on their GeneChips and the method that MagMAX for Microarrays employs, giving you confidence in your results.


Figure 2. Obtain High Quality Microarray Data Using Total RNA From MagMAX™-96 for Microarrays Kit. Total RNA was isolated from frozen mouse lung and spleen using the MagMAX-96 for Microarrays Kit or the Affymetrix recommended protocol. RNA (1 µg) from each sample was amplified using the MessageAmp™ II-96 aRNA Amplification Kit. The biotin-labeled amplified RNA was fragmented and hybridized to an Affymetrix GeneChip Mouse Genome 430A 2.0 Array (total probe set=22,000) and analyzed on the Affymetrix GeneChip Operating Software. High correlation between the two methods was observed. (A) Scatter plot of normalized signal intensities of mouse lung total RNA; correlation between the methods is 0.99. (B) Scatter plot of normalized signal intensities of mouse spleen total RNA; correlation between the two methods is 0.99.
 
 
Now Available—MagMAX™ ComponentsTo make it easier to customize your sample preparation, Ambion now offers critical MagMAX components individually to supplement the reagents in the MagMAX kits (see Ordering Information below).