Applications of magnetic beads with covalently attached oligonucleotides in hybridization: isolation and detection of specific measles virus mRNA from a crude cell lysate.

A novel, rapid, one-step isolation procedure utilizing oligonucleotides end-attached to magnetic beads (Dynabeads) has been developed. The beads and their captured target nucleic acids were separated after 2 h from the hybridization solution using an external magnet. This procedure was used to isolate measles virus hemagglutinin (H) mRNA from infected cells dissolved in 5 M guanidine thiocyanate. The yield of the specific, undegraded H-mRNA was found to be near the estimated total amount of H-mRNA present in the cells. The magnetic beads were also used for detection of measles virus H-mRNA in a crude cell lysate by sandwich hybridization. The experimental detection limit was 630 amol H-mRNA.