The key difference between Trizol and Trizol LS is that trizol is required based on a ratio of 10:1 between trizol and the sample, while trizol LS is based on a ratio of 3:1 between trizol LS and the sample.
There are many different techniques for DNA, RNA, and protein isolation from living tissue. Chemical methods of extraction are very popular due to the ease of extraction. Trizol is a common reagent used in the isolation of DNA, RNA, and protein extraction. Different sources can be used in the isolation method. Trizol LS is a concentrated form of trizol, which increases the accuracy of extraction and speed the extraction reaction.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Trizol
3. What is Trizol LS
4. Similarities – Trizol and Trizol LS
5. Trizol vs Trizol LS in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Trizol vs Trizol LS
What is Trizol?
Trizol is the brand name of guanidium thiocyanate manufactured by Ambion part of Life Technologies. Guanidium thiocyanate is a chaotropic agent used mainly in the isolation procedure of DNA and RNA. The key role of trizol is to perform cell lysis and protein denaturation, which is the first step toward the successful isolation of nucleic acids. During the extraction, a ratio of 10:1 is maintained between trizol and the sample.
Trizol works by weakening the molecular structures of proteins. They do it by breaking the hydrogen bonds and destabilizing the 3D structures of the associated proteins. This leads to an increased rate of protein denaturation during the nucleic acid extraction process, which leads to the successful isolation of DNA and/or RNA. During the extraction process, trizol is usually coupled with phenol/chloroform to complete the DNA extraction. For RNA extraction, trizol is coupled with phenol or acetone precipitation.
Figure 01: Trizol
Trizol is a pink-colored, light-sensitive reagent. Therefore, upon reaction with light, the chemical properties of trizol are lost, so it becomes inactivated. Hence, it is stored under dark conditions in amber bottles at room temperature. An average DNA yield of 5 µg and RNA yield of 10 µg per millilitre can be obtained from a trizol-based extraction process.
What is Trizol LS?
Trizol LS reagent is mainly optimized for RNA extraction from liquid samples or serum. The concentration of trizol is higher in trizol LS and maintains a ratio of 3:1 between trizol LS and liquid sample. Trizol LS also contains guanidium thiocyanate and is used as a chaotropic agent during the extraction. Thus, trizol LS also is capable of denaturing proteins and helping in the cell lysis process. Trizol LS has increased effectiveness in inhibiting RNase activity, which makes it a better choice for accurate RNA extraction. An RNA yield of 20 µg/mL can be obtained by using trizol LS reagent. Trizol LS is dark pink in colour due to the increased concentration, and therefore, the toxicity is also high compared to trizol reagents.
What are the Similarities Between Trizol and Trizol LS?
- Trizol and trizol LS are composed of guanidium thiocyanate.
- They act as chaotropic agents in the extraction of proteins and nucleic acids.
- Trizol and trizol LS cause effective protein denaturation.
- They are highly sensitive to light.
- Moreover, both reagents are stored in amber bottles.
- Both trizol and trizol LS are stored at room temperature.
- Both reagents are pink in colour.
What is the Difference Between Trizol and Trizol LS?
Trizol is required based on a ratio of 10:1 between trizol and the sample, while trizol LS is based on a ratio of 3:1 between trizol LS and the sample. Thus, this is the key difference between trizol and trizol LS. Trizol is light pink in colour, while trizol LS is dark pink in colour. Moreover, trizol is mostly suitable for both DNA and RNA extraction, while trizol LS is mainly used for RNA extraction.
The below infographic presents the differences between trizol and trizol LS in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.
Summary – Trizol vs Trizol LS
Trizol and trizol LS are two reagents that are composed of guanidium thiocyanate. Guanidium thiocyanate is a chaotropic agent that is predominantly used in the extraction of nucleic acids as they cause effective protein denaturation. Trizol is required based on a ratio of 10:1 between trizol and the sample, while trizol LS is based on a ratio of 3:1 between trizol LS and the sample. Based on the function of trizol and trizol LS, trizol is generally used during both DNA and RNA extraction. However, trizol LS is mainly used in RNA extraction due to its high effectiveness in RNase inhibition. So, this summarizes the difference between trizol and trizol LS.
Reference:
1. “Trizol Reagent and TRIzol LS Reagent” Interchim.fr.
2. “TRIZOL Products—Validated for High-Quality RNA.” Thermo Fisher Scientific.
Image Courtesy:
1. “TRIzol reagent” By GOKLuLe 盧樂 – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia