Table 1.

Comparison of Three Methods of RNA Extraction of Cells Scraped from the Cervix

RNA extraction method
RNeasy (n = 5)	Trizol (n = 8)	Trizol followed by acidic phenol-chloroform re-extraction (n = 21)
Mean yield* (ng)± SD	361 ± 313	3650 ± 1827	5730 ± 2043
Range of RNA yields	96–874	2144–7956	2556–8719
Mean OD ratio (260/280)± SD	2.0 ± 0.1	1.5 ± 0.08	1.6 ± 0.1

Yield was calculated from the absorbance at 260 nm.

The difference in yield between RNeasy and the other extraction methods is statistically significant (p < 0.01). The difference in yield between Trizol versus Trizol/acidic phenol-chloroform is also statistically significant (p = 0.02).

The difference in absorbance ratio between RNeasy and the other extraction methods is statistically significant (p < 0.0001). The difference in absorbance ratio between Trizol versus Trizol/acidic phenol-chloroform is not statistically significant (p = 0.3).