What is the stability of RNA DLPs?

Maintaining sterile, RNAse free conditions is always recommended as a precaution. Dried pellets are stable at room temperature for 2–4 weeks, but should be placed at –20 °C or –80 °C for long term storage. Under these conditions, dry RNA is stable for at least one year.

For correct storing and best performance of your RNA DLP, we recommend the following:

• Avoid repeated freeze-thaw, as this will denature the RNA DLP;
• Avoid the use of water as a diluent, since its pH may be as low as 4–5;
  The RNA DLP stability in solution depends on the pH. Dissolving DLPs into acidic solutions may result in oligo degradation. Therefore, avoid the use of non-sterile distilled water as solution pH might be as low as 4–5;
• Minimize the exposure of RNA DLPs to light, to avoid any bleaching effect;
• Store RNA DLPs highly concentrated and not in working dilutions, if you are not planning to use them within 24 hours. The higher the dilution factor, the faster the fluorescent activity fades away. Therefore, try to store highly concentrated aliquots frozen, thaw them only once, dilute them just before you use the probe and store the aliquots at 4 °C in the dark;
• For general instructions on how to handle RNA, please refer to our Guidelines for handling RNA.