RNA extraction is the purification of RNA

RNA

Ribonucleic acid , or RNA, is one of the three major macromolecules that are essential for all known forms of life....

 from biological samples. This procedure is complicated by the ubiquitous presence of ribonuclease

Ribonuclease

Ribonuclease is a type of nuclease that catalyzes the degradation of RNA into smaller components. Ribonucleases can be divided into endoribonucleases and exoribonucleases, and comprise several sub-classes within the EC 2.7 and 3.1 classes of enzymes.-Function:All organisms studied contain...

 enzymes in cells and tissues, which can rapidly degrade RNA. Several methods are used in molecular biology

Molecular biology

Molecular biology is the branch of biology that deals with the molecular basis of biological activity. This field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry...

 to isolate RNA from samples, the most common of these is Guanidinium thiocyanate-phenol-chloroform extraction.

See also

• RNA quality control see the following page http://RNA-integrity.gene-quantification.info/
• DNA extraction
  DNA extraction
  DNA isolation is a routine procedure to collect DNA for subsequent molecular or forensic analysis. There are three basic and two optional steps in a DNA extraction:...
  
  
• Phenol-chloroform extraction
  Phenol-chloroform extraction
  Phenol–chloroform extraction is a liquid–liquid extraction technique in biochemistry. It is widely used in molecular biology for isolating DNA, RNA and protein. Equal volumes of a phenol:chloroform mixture and an aqueous sample are mixed, forming a biphasic mixture...
  
  
• Ethanol precipitation
  Ethanol precipitation
  Ethanol precipitation is a method used to purify and/or concentrate RNA, DNA and polysaccharides such as pectin and xyloglucan from aqueous solutions.- Theory :DNA is polar due to its highly charged phosphate backbone...
  
  
• Column purification