Nucleic acid methods are the techniques used to study

nucleic acid Nucleic acids are large biomolecules that are crucial in all cells and viruses. They are composed of nucleotides, which are the monomer components: a pentose, 5-carbon sugar, a phosphate group and a nitrogenous base. The two main classes of nuclei ...

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

and

RNA Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a polymeric molecule that is essential for most biological functions, either by performing the function itself (non-coding RNA) or by forming a template for the production of proteins (messenger RNA). RNA and deoxyrib ...

Purification

DNA extraction The first isolation of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was done in 1869 by Friedrich Miescher. DNA extraction is the process of isolating DNA from the cells of an organism isolated from a sample, typically a biological sample such as blood, saliva, ...

Phenol–chloroform extraction Phenol–chloroform extraction is a liquid-liquid extraction technique in molecular biology used to separate nucleic acids from proteins and lipids. Process Aqueous samples, lysed cells, or homogenised tissue are mixed with equal volumes of a phen ...

* Minicolumn purification *

RNA extraction RNA extraction is the purification of RNA from biological samples. This procedure is complicated by the ubiquitous presence of ribonuclease enzymes in cells and tissues, which can rapidly degrade RNA. Several methods are used in molecular biology t ...

* Boom method * Synchronous coefficient of drag alteration (SCODA) DNA purification

Quantification

*Abundance in weight: spectroscopic nucleic acid quantitation *Absolute abundance in number:

real-time polymerase chain reaction A real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR, or qPCR when used quantitatively) is a laboratory technique of molecular biology based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). It monitors the amplification of a targeted DNA molecule durin ...

(quantitative PCR) *High-throughput relative abundance:

DNA microarray A DNA microarray (also commonly known as a DNA chip or biochip) is a collection of microscopic DNA spots attached to a solid surface. Scientists use DNA microarrays to measure the expression levels of large numbers of genes simultaneously or t ...

*High-throughput absolute abundance: serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) *Size:

gel electrophoresis Gel electrophoresis is an electrophoresis method for separation and analysis of biomacromolecules (DNA, RNA, proteins, etc.) and their fragments, based on their size and charge through a gel. It is used in clinical chemistry to separate ...

Synthesis

*''De novo'':

oligonucleotide synthesis Oligonucleotide synthesis is the chemical synthesis of relatively short fragments of nucleic acids with defined chemical structure (sequence). The technique is extremely useful in current laboratory practice because it provides a rapid and inexpens ...

*Amplification:

polymerase chain reaction The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a method widely used to make millions to billions of copies of a specific DNA sample rapidly, allowing scientists to amplify a very small sample of DNA (or a part of it) sufficiently to enable detailed st ...

(PCR), loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP),

transcription-mediated amplification Transcription-mediated amplification (TMA) is an isothermal (performed at constant temperature), single-tube nucleic acid Gene_duplication#As_amplification, amplification system utilizing two enzymes, RNA polymerase and reverse transcriptase. "Am ...

(TMA)

Kinetics

* Multi-parametric surface plasmon resonance *

Dual-polarization interferometry Dual-polarization interferometry (DPI) is an analytical technique that probes molecular layers adsorbed to the surface of a waveguide using the evanescent wave of a laser beam. It is used to measure the conformational change in proteins, or ot ...

* Quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D)

Gene function

RNA interference RNA interference (RNAi) is a biological process in which RNA molecules are involved in sequence-specific suppression of gene expression by double-stranded RNA, through translational or transcriptional repression. Historically, RNAi was known by ...

Other

* Bisulfite sequencing *

DNA sequencing DNA sequencing is the process of determining the nucleic acid sequence – the order of nucleotides in DNA. It includes any method or technology that is used to determine the order of the four bases: adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine. The ...

* Expression cloning *

Fluorescence in situ hybridization Fluorescence ''in situ'' hybridization (FISH) is a molecular cytogenetic technique that uses fluorescent probes that bind to only particular parts of a nucleic acid sequence with a high degree of sequence complementarity. It was developed by ...

Lab-on-a-chip A lab-on-a-chip (LOC) is a device that integrates one or several laboratory functions on a single integrated circuit (commonly called a "chip") of only millimeters to a few square centimeters to achieve automation and high-throughput screening. ...

Comparison of nucleic acid simulation software This is a list of notable computer programs that are used for nucleic acid Nucleic acids are large biomolecules that are crucial in all cells and viruses. They are composed of nucleotides, which are the monomer components: a pentose, 5-carbon su ...

Northern blot The northern blot, or RNA blot,Gilbert, S. F. (2000) Developmental Biology, 6th Ed. Sunderland MA, Sinauer Associates. is a technique used in molecular biology research to study gene expression by detection of RNA (or isolated mRNA) in a sample.Ke ...

* Nuclear run-on assay * Radioactivity in the life sciences *

Southern blot Southern blot is a method used for detection and quantification of a specific DNA sequence in DNA samples. This method is used in molecular biology. Briefly, purified DNA from a biological sample (such as blood or tissue) is digested with res ...

Differential centrifugation In biochemistry and cell biology, differential centrifugation (also known as differential velocity centrifugation) is a common procedure used to separate organelles and other sub-cellular particles based on their sedimentation rate. Although o ...

(sucrose gradient) *

Toeprinting assay The toeprinting assay, also known as the primer extension inhibition assay, is a method used in molecular biology that allows one to examine the interactions between messenger RNA and ribosomes or RNA-binding proteins. It is different from the mo ...

*Several

bioinformatics Bioinformatics () is an interdisciplinary field of science that develops methods and Bioinformatics software, software tools for understanding biological data, especially when the data sets are large and complex. Bioinformatics uses biology, ...

methods, as seen in list of RNA structure prediction software

References

External links

Protocols for Recombinant DNA Isolation, Cloning, and Sequencing
{{Molecular biology Genetics techniques Molecular biology Nucleic acids