Molecular Genomics provides microarray services using Agilent microarrays and also sequencing services, whole genome sequencing and targeted resequencing.

What is the RNA samples quality?

High quality total RNA samples have an A260/A280 ratio of ≥ 2 which indicates the absence of contaminating proteins and an A260/A230 ratio of ≥2 which indicates the absence of other organic compounds, such as guanidinium isothiocyanate, alcohol and phenol as well as cellular contaminants such as carbohydrates. RIN number for RNA should be ≥ 7.

High-quality genomic DNA samples have an A260/A280 ratio of at least 1.8 indicating the absence of contaminating proteins and A260/A230 ratio at least 1.8 indicating the presence of contaminating salts and/or organic solvent. Customer will need to provide a gel image of electrophoretic analysis of the genome DNA.

The samples should be sent to Molecular Genomics in dry ice to ensure sample integrity during delivery.

Upon receipt of the biological samples, quality of the RNA will be checked using a Nanodrop (unless otherwise advised by the customer not to do so). The samples will only be accepted for labeling only if the A260/A280 and A260/A230 ratios are > 2. The integrity of the RNA samples will also be assessed using a Nanochip on a Bioanalyser. For the assessment, the Agilent 2100 Expert Software automatically provides a RNA Integrity Number (RIN). RIN provides a quantitative value for RNA integrity that facilitates the standardization of quality interpretation. RIN numbers ranges from 1 to 10 with 10 being the best and 1 being the worst.

Users should define a minimum threshold RIN number based on correlative data in order to eliminate experimental bias due to poor RNA quality. From our experience, a minimum RIN number of 7 usually indicate good quality RNA samples If the quality of the RNA meets the requirement, the samples will be accepted and used for the intended applications.

Upon receipt of the biological samples, quality of the genomic DNA will be checked again using a Nanodrop (unless otherwise advised by the customer not to do so). The samples will only be accepted for labeling only if the A260/A280 and A260/A230 ratios are > 1.8. A gel picture for the samples should be provided by the customer. If the quality of the DNA meets the requirement, the samples will be accepted and used for the intended applications.

The samples should be sent to Molecular Genomics in dry ice to ensure sample integrity during delivery.

The customer will be informed of the sample QC results and new samples would be requested from the customer. In the event that it is not possible to get new samples, project can proceed with the prior samples with the consent of the customer. In such situation, the company will not be able to guarantee the efficiency of the workflow.

We have bioinformatics support that can be bundled with the project or as a standalone service. Please contact your sales representative for discussion on your specific needs.

A service report will be compiled for the laboratory workflow with bioinformatics report if bioinformatics service is included. A DVD containing all the raw data including all the QC reports generated throughout the workflow will accompany the hard-copy service report.