Table 2.

An overview of the specifications of the evaluated commercial kits and protocols.

	QuickRNA microprep	RNeasy micro	TRIzol reagent	TRIzol + RNeasy micro	TRIzol + PureLink RNA mini	Aurum total RNA mini
Starting material	$\le$ 10 mg tissue (stored at -80ºC)	< 5 mg tissue (stored at -80ºC)	50–100 mg tissue (stored at -80ºC)	< 15 mg tissue (stored at – 80 °C)	$\le$ 200 mg tissue (stored at – 80 °C)	$\le$ 40 mg thawed tissue (stored at -80ºC)
Approx. preparation time	~ 20–30 min	~ 30–40 min	~ 1–2 h	~ 1–2 h	~ 60 min	~ 30–60 min
Binding capacity	10 µg total RNA	100 µg total RNA	N/A	100 µg total RNA	1000 µg total RNA	> 100 µg total RNA
Storage	RT	RT	15–30 °C	15–30 °C/RT	15–30 °C/RT	RT
DNase digestion	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes
Elution volume	20 µl	10–14 µl	N/A	20 µl	30 µl	30 µl-2 $\times$ 40 µl
Advantages	Rapid procedure	Rapid procedure	High RNA yield	High RNA yield	Reduced contamination	Purity > 1.96
Disadvantages	Inconsistent recovery	Inconsistent recovery	Low purity	Low purity	Low purity	Purity > 2.2
	Low RNA yield	Low RNA yield	Phenol contamination	Phenol contamination	Phenol contamination	Low RNA yield