Hello, yes, it’s possible to extract both RNA and protein from the same limited sample. A common approach is TRIzol (or similar phenol–chloroform reagents), where RNA is recovered from the aqueous phase and protein from the organic phase after phase separation. This minimizes sample loss compared to splitting upfront. Column kits also provide optimized workflows for parallel extraction with higher reproducibility.

From experience, TRIzol works well, but protein recovery can be lower and may require additional cleanup. If protein quality is critical, kits are often more reliable. Always keep everything cold and avoid multiple freeze–thaws to preserve both RNA integrity and protein stability.

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Yes, there are several commercially available kits that will isolate DNA, RNA, and protein from the same starting sample.

Take a look through what is available and what the minimum (and maximum) amounts of starting material you'd need. I'd suggest trying a kit on an easily obtained sample first just to make sure it does what you need.

Good luck!

Hello Enkhtaivan Khongorzul

TRIzol's primary strength is RNA isolation. Protein extraction using TRIzol can be challenging due to difficulties in resolubilizing the protein fraction after the initial nucleic acid separation. While modifications like urea:SDS solubilization and sonication can improve protein yield, it might still be less efficient than dedicated protein extraction methods or kits.

There are specialized kits designed for combined RNA/DNA/protein extraction, such as those employing column purification or magnetic bead technology. They can offer better protein recovery and purity, especially when dealing with small, precious samples. These methods often eliminate the need for organic solvents like phenol and chloroform, making them safer and easier to use. One such example which I can think of is the Norgen Biotek's kit which provides a rapid spin-column method for the isolation and purification of total RNA, genomic DNA and proteins sequentially from a single sample of cultured animal cells, small tissue samples, blood, bacteria, yeast, fungi or plants. Please refer to the link below.

https://norgenbiotek.com/product/rnadnaprotein-purification-plus-kits#:~:text=This%20kit%20provides%20a%20rapid%20spin%2Dcolumn%20method%20for%20the,%2C%20yeast%2C%20fungi%20or%20plants.

For small and valuable samples where both high-quality RNA and protein are needed, I would recommend specialized kits or you may use modified TRIzol protocols specifically optimized for sequential extraction, rather than relying on the basic TRIzol protocol alone.

Best,

Yes, you can isolate both RNA and protein from the same limited sample. Two main approaches are commonly used

1. TRIzol.

2. Commercial RNA/Protein co-extraction kits. Like Ambion PARIS.

Norgen RNA/Protein kits.