Hi Paula

Circulating RNAs from fluids as plasma should give you a "gaussian" profile in Bioanalyzer which will be tilted to the right or left depending on the abundance of high or low-molecular weight RNA species. A very degraded sample will show a dramatic tilt of the Gaussian curve to the left (close to the place where the miRNAs appear), however it is very difficult to  state the amount of degradation. It would be cool if you have some sample that you really trust and has no degradation to compare.

Of course forget about RIN. Let me know if it helps.

Best

Paco

Hi Francisco, thanks for your answer!

Unfortunately I have no trustful serum samples to compare. About the profile, besides of miRNA reads, some samples show a big tilted on far right, about 150nt, which I'm not sure what it means. I have enclosed the file if by any chance you would have more time to spare on it. I appreciate in advance.

Best,

Paula

Hi Paula,

Don't you expect that miRNAs present in the serum would be rather stable, as they are presumably associated with protein complexes or loaded into vesicles and thereby protected from degradation?