Hi guys,

I'm a PhD student currently working on a method for distinguishing between double and single stranded RNA as a way of assessing the quality of IVT products via HPLC-FLR

The dyes I've been using such as pico green (v expensive) show a huge difference in fluorescence emission between double and single stranded DNA (up to 20 fold greater emission for the same mass!).

However RNA, single or double doesn't interact very strongly with these dyes at all.

I've been searching constantly for dyes that have shown RNA specifity or at least interact as strongly as they do DNA but I've not had much luck.

I thought I'd try thinking outside the box and ask reddit for a link to any papers etc

Thanks guys