ISOLATION OF HEPATITIS-C VIRUS-RNA FROM SERUM FOR REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION PCR

Standard multistep extraction and isolation of RNA for hepatitis C vir us (HCV) reverse transcription (RT)-PCR are impractical for routine us e in clinical laboratories. We compared three simple commercially avai lable methods for RNA isolation (RNAzol B, TRISOLV, and ULTRASPEC; Bio tecx Laboratories, Houston, Tex.) and a total nucleic acid isolation m ethod (IsoQuick; MicroProbe Corp., Garden Grove, Calif.) for the recov ery of HCV RNA from sera obtained from 12 viremic patients for RT-PCR. RNAzol B, TRISOLV, ULTRASPEC, and IsoQuick extraction methods detecte d 87.5, 79.2, 33.3, and 58.3% of the paired positive samples, respecti vely. The method used for isolation of RNA is an important concern whe n optimizing HCV RT-PCR.