Storage Medium stabilizes RNA at room temperature.
Press Release Summary:
Eliminating need for cold storage and shipping, RNAstable(TM) forms thermo-stable barrier, securely shrink-wrapping RNA samples to protect them from degradation. To store RNA, researchers pipette samples directly into tube or well of RNAstable and let dry. Sample recovery requires just adding water. Recovered samples can be used directly in applications such as qRT-PCR, bioanalyzer and microarray analysis, end-point PCR, gel analysis, and cDNA synthesis.
Original Press Release:
Biomatrica's RNAstable(TM) Stabilizes RNA at Room Temperature
SAN DIEGO, Jan. 24 /-- Biomatrica, the biostability company that offers innovative technologies for stabilizing biological samples at room temperature, has introduced RNAstable(TM) for preserving RNA at room temperature, eliminating the need for cold storage and shipping.
Interest in RNA has skyrocketed over the past years due to its role as a gene silencer and in gene expression studies. However, RNA samples are difficult to work with given their highly labile nature and tendency to degrade even in cold storage. Exposure to slightly elevated temperatures for even short time periods can compromise RNA integrity and detrimentally affect downstream assays.
Biomatrica's RNAstable utilizes technology that forms a thermo-stable barrier, securely "shrink-wrapping" RNA samples to protect them from degradation. To store their RNA, researchers simply need to pipette their samples directly into a tube or well of RNAstable and let dry. Sample recovery requires just adding water; there is no further purification involved.
RNAstable preserves RNA at room temperature for up to five months and has demonstrated an equivalent of three and a half years stability under accelerated aging conditions. In side-by-side comparisons, RNAstable is better at preventing degradation than freezer storage. Furthermore, RNA samples recovered following stabilization in RNAstable can be used directly in applications such as qRT-PCR, bioanalyzer and microarray analysis, end-point PCR, gel analysis, cDNA synthesis and reverse transcription without inhibition or interference.
"RNA is hard to work with because it is unstable and degrades even when properly stored," said Fernando Monroy, Associate Professor at Northern Arizona University. "You are always anxious until you see the results of your experiments. RNAstable makes working with RNA much easier, as it preserves its integrity during storage, and it has allowed my experiments to be consistently reproduced."
Scientists can now store their RNA samples with minimal effort on the bench top in a 1.5 ml microcentrifuge tube or 96-well plate containing RNAstable, greatly reducing reliance on costly freezer units. Biomatrica estimates that storing samples with RNAstable costs 15 times less than keeping them in freezers. Shipping samples at ambient temperature also drastically reduces transportation costs by as much as 75 percent since dry ice is not needed. Additionally, the integrity of RNA stabilized in RNAstable is protected against fluctuating and inconsistent temperatures during shipping.
About Biomatrica(R), Inc.
Biomatrica (http://www.biomatrica.com/) is a San Diego-based biostability company that provides innovative technologies for stabilizing, storing and shipping biological samples at room temperature. The novel platform technology, based on the principles of anhydrobiosis (life without water), which allows multicellular organisms to survive extreme environments, is designed for use in preserving complex biological samples and assays. Biomatrica's current products stabilize nucleic acids with no sample degradation, thus labs can reduce their reliance on freezers and drastically reduce shipping costs. In addition to RNAstable, Biomatrica also offers products that stabilize DNA, including DNA SampleMatrix(R), and CrudE SampleMatrix(R), a bacterial DNA stabilization and isolation product.
Biomatrica products are used in laboratories performing life science research, from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to academic research and forensics laboratories. Custom services to stabilize additional sample types are available. The company also offers SampleWare(R) Version 3.0 Software, which is an easy-to-use, customizable laboratory sample management database that provides scientists with the means to store and organize their biological samples, and directly supports samples stabilized with Biomatrica technology.
CONTACT: Stephanie M. Boos of Biomatrica, +1-858-550-0308, ext. 23, sboos@biomatrica.com
Web site: http://www.biomatrica.com/
