Abstract
RNA-protein complexes (RNPs) are key players in cell physiology, especially in the context of RNA metabolism. However, their analysis has been dependent on specific protein epitopes or RNA sequence elements, preventing unbiased and cell-wide studies. We developed a three-step protocol, termed Phenol Toluol extraction (PTex), to isolate the complete suite of RNPs in cells, solely based on their unique physicochemical properties after UV-cross-linking. PTex, along with other recently developed unbiased techniques, has the potential to guide the way to cell-wide analysis of RNA-protein interactions.