The use of ionic liquids for cracking viruses for isolation of nucleic acids

•Ionic liquids were successfully used for isolation of both RNA and DNA from viruses.•Highest yields of both DNA and RNA were achieved with [C1C1im][C1PO2OH].•DNase I and RNase H activity was also inhibited in [C1C1im][C1PO2OH]. The most important molecules in the life sciences are nucleic acids. This is especially important in the context of virus research where nucleic acids are primarily analysed. In general, there are two methods for extracting nucleic acids: solution-based and column-based. In many cases quantitative isolation of nucleic acids is necessary. In the present paper, ionic liquids have been tested for the first time for disintegration of virus particles and separation of the nucleic acids in a liquid phase system. [(OH)2C2C1C1NH][C2CO2] and several [NTf2]-based ionic liquids were tested as well as [C1C1im][C1PO2OH], [C8C8C8C1N] and [C8C1im]-based ionic liquids. With [(OH)2C2C1C1NH][NTf2], [C6C6C6C14P][FAP] and [C6C1im][FAP] a significant higher recovery was obtained in comparison to the control. In particular, [C1C1im][C1PO2OH] achieved promising results with respect to recovery rates and purity. The isolation protocol is fast, easy and column free. An additional advantage is the deactivation of nucleases such as DNase I and RNase H.