Biomedical Genomics Core

Typically our microarray hybridization experiments require 100-500 ng of total RNA. However, many investigators are performing experiments using small amounts of material (e.g. sorted cells, laser capture or islets). We routinely amplify RNA from as little as 10-50 ng of total RNA (~ 1000 cells) and with some of the latest technologies have successfully taken this down to 500 pg (~ 50 cells) !

We typically use Nugen's Ovation™ RNA Amplification and Labeling Systems which involves a series of enzymatic reactions resulting in linear amplification of exceedingly small amounts of RNA for use in array analysis. Unlike exponential RNA amplification methods, such as NASBA and RT-PCR, we have found that Ovation amplification maintains representation of the starting mRNA population. To see an animated overview of this amplification technology click here.