RNasin® Ribonuclease Inhibitors

Establish an “RNA Only Work Zone” in your lab that has dedicated equipment, reagents, labware, etc. Use these tips to help you avoid RNase contamination.

1. Wear gloves and use sterile technique when handling RNA or reagents that will be used with RNA.
2. The most common sources of RNase contamination are hands and bacteria or mold that could be lurking on dust particles or on glassware.
3. Use sterile, disposable plasticware.
4. These products are typically RNase-free and don’t require treatment to inactivate RNases.
5. Treat non-disposable glassware and plasticware before you use it. For glassware, bake it at 250°C overnight.
6. For plasticware, rinse it with 0.1N NaOH/1mM EDTA and then with diethyl pyrocarbonate (DEPC)-treated water.
7. Reserve a set of chemicals and solutions needed for RNA isolation and analysis as “RNA Only” and keep them separate from reagents for other applications.
8. Wear gloves whenever you handle these reagents, and use sterile labware to measure them.
9. Beware! Autoclaving alone is not sufficient to inactivate all RNases.
10. Solutions that you prepare in the lab should be treated by adding DEPC to 0.05% and incubated overnight. Autoclaving the treated solutions for 30 minutes will remove any trace of the DEPC from the solution.
11. Use RNasin® Ribonuclease Inhibitor to help prevent RNA degradation.