Analytical Chemistry Publishes Study on RNA Quantification in Complex Nanoparticle Formulations Using SFAS
Scatter-FreeUV−Visible Spectroscopy for Accurate RNA Quantification in Complex RNANanoparticle Formulations
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Marama Labs is pleased to highlight a new peer-reviewed publication in Analytical Chemistry demonstrating accurate RNA quantification across structurally diverse nanoparticle formulations using Scatter-Free UV/Visible Spectroscopy (SFAS).
The study extends previous validation of SFAS beyond lipid nanoparticles to include polymer–lipid hybrids, dendrimer–lipid hybrids, and cyclodextrin nanocomplexes. These systems were selected because they introduce known challenges for RNA quantification, including resistance to detergent disruption and intrinsic absorbance in the UV region used for RNA measurement.
The authors demonstrate that conventional fluorescence-based assays, such asRiboGreen, can underestimate RNA concentration in formulations where nanoparticle disruption is incomplete or inconsistent. In contrast, SFAS enables direct measurement in intact nanoparticles by separating absorption and scattering using an integrating sphere-based approach, with additional spectral deconvolution applied where nanoparticle components absorb in the same regionas RNA.
Key Insights
The study demonstrates that SFAS enables:
• Direct RNA quantification in intact nanoparticles without disruption or extraction
• Accurate measurement across lipid, polymer, dendrimer, and cyclodextrin formulations
• Correction of scattering artefacts using integrating sphere UV/Vis spectroscopy
• Separation of overlapping absorbance signals using linear deconvolution where required
• Improved agreement with expected RNA concentrations across all tested systems
• Non-destructive workflows allowing sample reuse for downstream analysis
Across all formulations, SFAS showed reduced dependence on nanoparticle composition and preparation-dependent disruption efficiency compared to fluorescence-based assays.
Read the Full Publication
Explorethe full study in Analytical Chemistry to review the methodology, formulation set, and comparative performance against fluorescence-based RNA assays.
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