Regeneration of total RNA purificationsilica-based columns

Silica-based columns are largely used in RNA purification, allowing fast extractions and good yields of high qualitynucleic acid, but their major limitation is the high cost. The reuse of such columns, although desirable, is not recommendedbecause of residual amounts of material from the previous sample trapped in the column matrix, which might be releasedduring further purification. Thus, recycling does need previous complete removal of any detectable RNA trace, but to date noprotocol which allows decontamination and reuse is available.We report a very rapid decontamination procedure, based ontreatment with warm alkaline solution containing Triton X-100, which ensures no RNA carry-over, and allows the recycling ofcolumns without impairment of their efficiency in high-quality RNA purification even after several regeneration rounds.