The characterization of global gene expression patterns of microscale samples is important in many areas of biological and clinical research. The choice of carrier is critical for the efficient isolation and successful amplification of RNA at the nanogram level. Here we show that recovery of nanograms of RNA is significantly higher when carrier linear polyacrylamide is supplemented with carrier tRNA. Reverse transcription and in vitro transcription reactions remain efficient and specific in the presence of carrier tRNA. Finally, comparison of GeneChip array hybridization patterns demonstrates that the presence of carrier tRNA does not cause detectable distortion in global amplification. Taken together, tRNA is a superior carrier for the isolation and global amplification of microscale RNA.