Separation and purification of short-, medium-, and long-stranded RNAs by RP-HPLC using different mobile phases and C18 columns with various pore sizes

Nucleic acids, which have been employed in medicines for various diseases, are attracting attention as a new pharmaceutical model. Depending on the target substances, nucleic acid medicines with various nucleic acid chain lengths (several tens of nucleotides [nt] to several thousands of nt) exist. The purification of synthesized nucleic acids is crucial as various impurities remain in the crude product after synthesis. Presently, reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) represents an effective purification method for nucleic acids. However, the information regarding the HPLC conditions for separating and purifying nucleic acids of various chain lengths is insufficient. Thus, this technical note describes the separation and purification of short-, medium-, and long-stranded nucleic acids (several tens of nt to thousands of nt) by RP-HPLC with various mobile phases and octadecyl-based columns with various pore sizes, such as normal (9-12 nm), wide (30 nm), and super wide (>30 nm) pores.