Genomics CORE Facility

DNA/RNA QC

We provide services with multiple pieces of equipment for the quantification and QC of your DNA and RNA samples.

We can analyze both purified nucleic acid and also sequence ready libraries.

  • TapeStation
  • NanoDrop
  • Qubit

Our Excel order form is here, and can be emailed to Genomics@Dal.ca

How much sample is needed for QC?

  Conc needed Amount to drop off
TapeStation HS DNA D1000
 0.1-50 ng/ul 5ul
TapeStation HS DNA D5000 10-1000 pg/ul 5ul
TapeStation HS RNA 0.5-10 ng/ul 5ul
NanoDrop <500 ng/ul 5ul
Qubit BR DNA
 4-2000 ng/ul 5ul
Qubit HS DNA 0.1-120 ng/ul 5ul
Qubit BR RNA 0.5-1,200 ng/ul 5ul

If you do not know the concentration of your sample, you will be charged for determining the concentration before use on the equipment.

Why use the TapeStation over the Qubit/NanoDrop

The TapeStation is much more sensitive, you also get an RNA Integrity Number (RIN) and DV200 values to show how much of your RNA is high molecular weight and can be used for downstream assays like NGS library prep.

What is a RIN score?

The RNA Integrity Number (RIN) is a software score that enables users to estimate the integrity of total RNA samples. The RIN is a numerical assessment of the integrity of RNA and allows for the direct comparison of RNA samples.

It ranges from 0 to 10, with 10 being the best, most pure RNA.

What is a DV200 score?

The DV200 score is a number that enables users to estimate the amount of RNA contained in a sample that is high molecular weight (>200nt) and therefore useful for downstream assays.

Why use the NanoDrop over the Qubit?

The NanoDrop is cheaper to use, has no reagent costs and covers a wide range of samples.

It also provides A260/280 and A260/230 ratios to help determine purity of your sample.

It does have it's downsides though. As it doesn't use a dye to determine the quantification, it counts any and all nucleic acid in the sample, whether that's short snippets of nucleic acid or long, high molecular weight pieces.

If you're taking your sample into NGS library prep it's advisable to use Qubit for quantification for a much more accurate reading.