Comparison of two available platforms for determination of RNA quality

The integrity of RNA is a very critical aspect regarding downstream RNA based quantitative analysis like RT_-qPCR. Lowquality RNA can compromise the results of such experiments. Today automated lab-on-chip capillary electrophoresis allows rapid RNA quality and quantity determination, e.g. 2100 Bioanalyzer (Agilent Technologies) and the Experion (Bio-Rad). Both platforms determine RNA quality using a numerical system which represents the integrity of RNA. The Bioanalyzer offers the RIN algorithm (RNA Integrity Number) on the Bioanalyzer 2100 and Bio-Rad developed a new Experion software version that offers an algorithm for calculating the RNA Quality Index (RQI). The aim of this study was to compare both systems regarding sensitivity, reproducibility, linearity and the influence of individual tissue extractions and different chip runs on RNA quality and quantity determination. Overall it was confirmed that both algorithms are very comparable and beneficial for the determination of RNA quality for downstream applications. The Experion showed slightly better results regarding reproducibility and absolute sensitivity, whereas the 2100 Bioanalyzer showed a higher linearity.