Beginner with RNA extraction

[Edouard Lauzier]

Sorry for the silly question but...


I know that the 260/280 ration tells u the purity of your sample ( 2.0 for RNA )
Lately I'm unable to get over 1.5
I understand that the 260 value tells you the amount of nucleic acid you have...
But what the 280 means ? How can I loer it to get a higher ratio ?  My
point being if phenol ( 270 ) or proteins (230 ) absorb at those
wavelenghts, the fact of getting rid of them should not affect the
ratio... 

Thanks in advance for your help...

p.s. I use the Chomczynski and Sacchi ( 1986 ) method...
-- 
Edouard Lauzier, B.Sc.                           elauzier at fse.ulaval.ca
Physical Activity Science Laboratory
(Laval University)  G1K 7P4
CANADA