Automated Capillary Electrophoresis (CE) workflow for high-resolution RNA integrity analysis

High-resolution characterisation of RNA integrity, size distribution, and degradation patterns is essential across modern molecular biology and biopharmaceutical workflows, from mRNA-LNP therapeutics to gene expression studies and viral genomics. Capillary electrophoresis (CE) has become a preferred analytical method due to its ability to deliver sensitive, quantitative, and reproducible RNA quality assessments with minimal sample input.

Introduction

Capillary electrophoresis using the RNA 9000 Purity & Integrity kit provides a robust, chemistry-defined approach for resolving RNA species across a broad size range, leveraging denaturing conditions and intercalating dye quantification to generate high-resolution electropherograms suitable for automated quality metrics.

The BioPhase 8800 system enhances this analytical framework by enabling multi-capillary, parallel CE separations with precise temperature control, high-voltage stability, and integrated data-processing algorithms that quantify RNA integrity, degradation profiles, and impurity.

However, manually executed CE workflows impose a significant constraint when processing large numbers of samples. Manual pipetting of large sample sets can lead to operator fatigue, potentially introducing variability in results. In addition, manual procedures inherently pose a risk of RNase contamination, which can result in RNA degradation.

Key features

• To address these challenges, we implemented an automated workflow on the Biomek i7 Hybrid Automated workstation that integrates all sample and reagent plate preparation required for the RNA 9000 Purity & Integrity kit.
• This automation minimises variability in sample and reagent preparation, prevents RNase contamination, and ensures consistent CE performance across high-throughput batches.

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