Semi-automated RNA Isolation from Tempus Blood RNA Tubes Using the Magcore Plus II Instrument

High-throughput, precise and cost-effective isolation of high-quality RNA is essential for the growing number of RNA-based next-generation sequencing (NGS) analyses. Manual RNA isolation provides sufficient quality but requires significant hands-on time and carries an increased risk of contamination and sample misidentification. Here we describe a semi-automated protocol for the isolation of high-quality total RNA from 3 ml of peripheral blood collected in Tempus Blood RNA Tubes. The isolation can be performed either from the total volume of 9 ml of Tempus blood lysate or from smaller volumes (6 and 3 ml, respectively) using the MagCore triXact RNA Kit on the MagCore Plus II automated nucleic acid extractor, which allows RNA isolation in single tubes. The original isolation protocol (#631) for whole blood RNA isolation was customized by the manufacturer (#631T) by omitting the cell lysis step. After optimizing the process, we compared the yield and quality of 760 RNA samples isolated manually or by semi-automated methods. We conclude that RNA isolation using the semi-automated MagCore protocol yields 5-10 μg of total RNA from 6 ml of lysate (2 ml of peripheral blood), which is almost comparable in quantity and quality to manual isolation. In addition, we show that the remaining 3 ml of lysate is sufficient for backup re-isolation. Our semi-automated RNA protocol reduces hands-on time without increasing costs and yields bulky total RNA of a quali-ty suitable for subsequent RNA NGS applications.