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RNA Concentration Calculator
The concentration of RNA in solution can be determined by substituting the molecular weight, extinction coefficient and λ max into a derived form of the Beer - Lambert Law. A substance's λmax is the wavelength at which it experiences the strongest absorbance. For RNA, this wavelength is 280 nm.
The absorbance at λmax can be measured using a spectrophotometer. There are some important things to keep in mind when measuring 280 absorbance:
  • The RNA should be well-dissolved in solution. RNA precipitation will cause inaccuracies in concentration calculations.
  • The absorbance reading should not exceed the maximum detection limit of the instrumentation. This can be identified by a plateau in the absorbance spectrum. If the absorbance spectrum plateaus, dilute the sample and try again.
  • This calculator assumes a 1 cm pathlength for instrumentation. Standard cuvettes for spectrophotometers are typically 1 cm. If a different pathlength is used, value should be corrected during data entry.
RNA
Absorbance at λmax
Dilution factor (optional)
Pathlength
 cm
Feedback
Have a question or a feature request about this tool? Feel free to reach out to us and let us know! We're always looking for ways to improve!
References
This online resource may be cited as follows
MLA
"Quest Calculate™ RNA Concentration Calculator." AAT Bioquest, Inc., 20 Sep. 2025, https://www.aatbio.com/tools/calculate-RNA-concentration.
APA
AAT Bioquest, Inc. (2025, September 20). Quest Calculate™ RNA Concentration Calculator. AAT Bioquest. https://www.aatbio.com/tools/calculate-RNA-concentration.
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This online resource has been cited in 3 publications, including
Engineering base changes and epitope-tagged alleles in mice using cas9 RNA-guided nuclease
Authors: 
Gertsenstein, Marina and Lintott, Lauri G and Nutter, Lauryl MJ
Journal: 
Current Protocols (2025): e70109
First detection of Jingmen tick virus in Corsica with a new generic RTqPCR system
Authors: 
Cicculli, Vincent and Colmant, Agathe MG and Piorkowski, G{\'e}raldine and Amaral, Rayane and Maitre, Apolline and Decarreaux, Dorine and Thirion, Laurence and Moureau, Gregory and Falchi, Alessandra and de Lamballerie, Xavier and others,
Journal: 
npj Viruses (2024): 44
First detection of Jingmen tick virus in Corsica, France and development of a real time detection system for multiple tick-associated jingmenviruses
Authors: 
Cicculli, Vincent and Colmant, Agathe MG and Piorkowski, Geraldine and Amaral, Rayane and Maitre, Apolline and Decarreaux, Dorine and Thirion, Laurence and Moureau, Gregory and Falchi, Alessandra and de Lamballerie, Xavier and others,

  • Select the RNA type. Or select "custom sequence" to enter the nucleic acid sequence.
  • Enter the absorbance at λmax. For a typical nucleic acid sequence, λmax is 260 nm. However, this value may change based on the sequence.Please use the maximum absorbance as indicated by the spectrophotometric reading (ie. highest peak).
  • If the absorbance is obtained with a diluted sample, enter the dilution factor in order to determine the concentration of the original sample.
  • If pathlength differs from 1 cm, enter corrected value into pathlength textbox.
  • Press calculate to display the concentration.