Aliquoting AMPure XP magnetic beads recomendations

[RNAtenderfoot]

I'm relatively new at working with RNA and I'm getting ready to make my first Library next week. Since I'm new to most these techniques and I want to be able to throw out anything that I feel might have been accidentally contaminated my standard operating procedure has been to make smaller aliqouts of all my reagents so I don't have to throw everything away if I make a mistake.

I was just considering aliqouting the AMPure XP magnetic beads for this reason but I have never worked with magnetic beads before. Other than vortexing the beads to make sure they are evenly suspended before aliqouting are there any considerations I need to be aware of? For example, I'm assuming it is OK to store them in standard RNA/DNA low binding tube eppendorf tubes?

I know this probably seems like a dumb question but the lab I'm in doesn't really have any molecular bio expertise and I'm learning everything from the product manuals, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

[kerplunk412]

No need to even store them in low-binding tubes, regular RNAse/DNAse-free microcentrifuge tubes are fine. Also note that typically by the time you use the beads for library prep your RNA has already been converted to double-stranded DNA, so there is no need for RNAse-free "paranoia."

Ampure XP beads can actually be used for RNA purification/concentration too, but that is probably a topic for another thread.

[Simone78]

just equilibrate the beads at RT for a while before mixing them (30 mins are enough for a 60 ml bottle), they contain PEG which is very viscous at 4 degrees. Mix really well and then make the aliquots. The binding capacity of the beads is so high that small pipetting errors or different amounts of beads in different aliquots won´t make any difference.
A step further: save (A LOT of) money and make your own beads. Several protocols are available, like the one described in PMID: 22267522.