When it comes to molecular diagnostics, sensitivity is everything. Whether you're running qPCR for viral detection or preparing libraries for NGS, the quality of your results hinges on two critical steps: nucleic acid extraction and PCR amplification. But what happens when your target nucleic acid is present at trace levels — in the picogram range or below?
That's where Carrier RNA comes in. Think of it as a "life jacket" for your precious nucleic acids, ensuring they don't get lost along the way.
What Is Carrier RNA and Why Does It Matter?
Carrier RNA, also known as a nucleic acid co-precipitant, is a high-purity, non-target RNA added during the extraction process to improve recovery of low-abundance nucleic acids.
During extraction, the polypropylene walls of centrifuge tubes carry electrostatic charges that can adsorb and trap nucleic acids, leading to sample loss. Carrier RNA helps neutralize this electrostatic effect, ensuring that your target nucleic acids bind efficiently to the purification column or magnetic beads, improving both binding and elution efficiency. The result? Maximum recovery of even the tiniest amounts of nucleic acid from your sample.
Common Types of Carrier RNA
Carrier RNAs come in several forms, each with distinct mechanisms and use cases:
|
Type |
Representative Substance |
Mechanism |
|
Polysaccharide |
Glycogen |
Co-precipitates with RNA under high-salt, anhydrous ethanol conditions, forming a visible pellet. |
|
Nucleic Acid Mixtures |
Poly-A potassium salt, E. coli total RNA, yeast total RNA, tRNA, etc. |
Reduces adsorption losses and lowers the probability of nucleases attacking the target nucleic acid. |
|
Others |
Linear acrylamide |
Reduces adsorption losses |
How Carrier RNA Works: The Science Behind It
Carrier RNA operates through three key mechanisms:
- Counteracting electrostatic adsorption: Polypropylene tube walls carry static charges that can trap nucleic acids. Carrier RNA competitively binds to these surfaces, reducing target loss.
- Boosting precipitation efficiency: Trace-level nucleic acids (e.g., in the pg range) are too dilute to form a pellet on their own. Carrier RNA provides a "scaffold" that enables visible pellet formation.
- Protecting target RNA: By saturating the environment with non-target RNA, Carrier RNA dilutes and competitively inhibits residual RNases, reducing the risk of target degradation.
Introducing Yeasen Carrier RNA
Yeasen's Carrier RNA is a yeast-derived RNA product, free of DNase and RNase contamination, with extremely low residual protein and DNA content. It is suitable for viral nucleic acid extraction, trace DNA extraction, and other applications. The extracted nucleic acids are compatible with downstream RT-PCR, RT-qPCR, and other assays.
The product is available in both liquid and lyophilized powder formats, offering flexibility for direct use and long-distance shipping and storage.
|
Product Name |
Cat. No. |
Size |
Storage |
|
Carrier RNA, 6 μg/μL |
19701ES |
1 mL (solution) |
Store at -25 to -15°C; shelf life 2 years |
|
Carrier RNA Powder, 216 μg/tube |
19703ES |
1 tube (lyophilized powder) |
Store lyophilized powder at room temperature; shelf life 2 years |
|
Carrier RNA Powder, 310 μg/tube |
19704ES |
1 tube / 100 tubes / 1000 tubes (lyophilized powder) |
Store lyophilized powder at room temperature; shelf life 2 years |
|
Carrier RNA Powder, 80 μg/tube |
19706ES |
100 tubes / 1000 tubes (lyophilized powder) |
Store lyophilized powder at room temperature; shelf life 2 years |
|
Carrier RNA Powder, 155 μg/tube |
19708ES |
1 tube / 100 tubes (lyophilized powder) |
Store lyophilized powder at room temperature; shelf life 2 years |
As a nucleic acid mixture, this product is straightforward to use. Simply add microgram (μg) amounts of Carrier RNA during the purification process to enhance precipitation efficiency for nucleic acids at the picogram (pg) level — ultimately boosting assay sensitivity.
Its mechanism of action is primarily through the addition of a large amount of carrier nucleic acid (Carrier RNA), which reduces tube-wall adsorption losses of the target nucleic acid, thereby improving binding and elution efficiency on the purification column, while simultaneously lowering the probability of RNase-mediated degradation of trace RNA in the extraction environment.
Application Highlights
1. Carrier RNA Boosts Detection of Low-Abundance SARS-CoV-2 Pseudovirus
Using a magnetic bead-based swab sample viral DNA/RNA extraction kit, nucleic acids were extracted from SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus samples at various concentrations, followed by detection of the N gene using a detection kit. Results showed that the addition of Carrier RNA led to higher extraction efficiency and greater downstream detection sensitivity.
|
Ct Value |
0 copies/mL |
125 copies/mL |
250 copies/mL |
500 copies/mL |
1000 copies/mL |
NTC |
|
Without Carrier RNA |
N/A; N/A; N/A |
N/A; N/A; N/A |
N/A; 40.4; N/A |
N/A; 40.16; 40.88 |
38.05; 38.02 |
N/A; N/A; N/A |
|
With Carrier RNA |
N/A; N/A; N/A |
N/A; 40.54; N/A |
40.2; 40.29; 38.95 |
38.61; 39.03; 38.59 |
37.53; 36.34 |
— |
2. Carrier RNA Maintains Performance After Accelerated Stability Testing at 65°C
Carrier RNA powder was subjected to accelerated stability testing by incubation at 65°C for 3, 6, and 9 days. The test protocol involved extracting nucleic acids from SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus samples at various concentrations using a magnetic bead-based swab sample viral DNA/RNA extraction kit, followed by detection of the orf1ab and N genes. Results showed that Carrier RNA stored at 65°C for 9 days performed comparably to that stored under standard conditions (-20°C), with no loss of performance.
VIC Channel:
|
Ct Value |
0 copies/mL |
250 copies/mL |
500 copies/mL |
1000 copies/mL |
2000 copies/mL |
NTC |
|
65°C, 3 days |
— |
36.32; 36.03; 36.26 |
35.16; 35.41; 39.26 |
35.19; 36.58; 35.44 |
33.80; 33.55 |
— |
|
65°C, 6 days |
— |
36.28; 35.61; 35.42 |
36.40; 35.21; 35.23 |
35.29; 34.37; 34.09 |
33.91; 33.21 |
— |
|
65°C, 9 days |
— |
36.40; 35.53; 37.41 |
36.24; 36.07; 36.63 |
34.34; 34.21; 34.25 |
33.97; 33.54 |
— |
|
Stored at -20°C |
N/A; 39.47; 39.86 |
36.40; 36.41; 38.01 |
35.55; 35.48; 36.01 |
33.14; 34.51; 34.50 |
33.92; 33.00 |
N/A; 40.15; 39.39 |
FAM Channel:
|
Ct Value |
0 copies/mL |
250 copies/mL |
500 copies/mL |
1000 copies/mL |
2000 copies/mL |
NTC |
|
65°C, 3 days |
— |
36.88; 37.07; 36.34 |
35.21; 35.62; 40.02 |
35.32; 36.61; 35.49 |
34.13; 33.86 |
— |
|
65°C, 6 days |
— |
35.98; 35.68; 35.32 |
37.34; 35.56; 35.39 |
35.69; 34.53; 34.14 |
34.35; 33.47 |
— |
|
65°C, 9 days |
— |
36.29; 36.20; 37.63 |
36.60; 35.86; 36.31 |
34.83; 34.41; 34.61 |
34.00; 33.58 |
— |
|
Stored at -20°C |
N/A; N/A; N/A |
36.06; 36.27; 39.08 |
35.63; 36.04; 37.43 |
33.5; 35.11; 34.49 |
34.09; 33.09 |
N/A; N/A; N/A |
Case Study: Enhanced Viral Nucleic Acid Recovery with Yeasen Carrier RNA
To evaluate the impact of Carrier RNA on viral nucleic acid extraction performance, a comparative study was conducted using a magnetic bead-based swab sample viral DNA/RNA extraction workflow.
SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus samples with different input concentrations were processed, followed by qPCR detection targeting the N gene.
The results demonstrate that the addition of Yeasen Carrier RNA significantly improves nucleic acid recovery efficiency, supporting more sensitive and reliable downstream detection, especially when processing samples with low viral loads.
VIC Channel
|
Ct Value |
0 copies/mL |
125 copies/mL |
250 copies/mL |
500 copies/mL |
1000 copies/mL |
NTC |
|
YEASEN |
N/A; N/A; N/A |
N/A; N/A; N/A |
38.76; 38.47; 39.53 |
38.83; 37.60; 37.82 |
37.91; 37.17 |
N/A; N/A; N/A |
|
Brand Q |
N/A; N/A; N/A |
N/A; 40.01; N/A |
N/A; 39.57; N/A |
37.42; 39.06; 38.85 |
N/A; 36.04 |
— |
FAM Channel
|
Ct Value |
0 copies/mL |
125 copies/mL |
250 copies/mL |
500 copies/mL |
1000 copies/mL |
NTC |
|
YEASEN |
N/A; N/A; N/A |
N/A; N/A; 38.06 |
38.92; 37.44; N/A |
35.71; 38.51; 36.36 |
35.31; 34.59 |
N/A; N/A; N/A |
|
Brand Q |
N/A; N/A; N/A |
N/A; 38.85; N/A |
38.61; 36.75; 39.58 |
37.41; 36.43; 35.70 |
36.25; 35.79 |
— |
Related Products
Carrier RNA is available as single-tube lyophilized powder and liquid formats, ready for direct use across a wide range of applications.
|
Product Name |
Cat. No. |
Size |
Physical Appearance |
|
19701ES03 |
1 mL |
Liquid |
|
|
19701ES08 |
5 mL |
||
|
19701ES60 |
100 mL |
||
|
19703ES01 |
1 tube |
Lyophilized Powder |
|
|
19703ES60 |
100 tubes |
||
|
19703ES80 |
1000 tubes |
||
|
19704ES01 |
1 tube |
Lyophilized Powder |
|
|
19704ES60 |
100 tubes |
||
|
19704ES80 |
1000 tubes |
||
|
19706ES60 |
100 tubes(80 μg/tube) |
Lyophilized Powder |
|
|
19706ES80 |
1000 tubes(80 μg/tube) |
||
|
19706ES90 |
1000 tubes(120 μg/tube) |
||
|
19708ES60 |
100 tubes |
Lyophilized Powder |