this invention provides compositions and methods for rapid isolation and purification of nucleopolymers from biological samples using anionic exchange media . the method of this invention can utilize commercially available anion exchanger materials with selected solutions of known ionic strength for absorption and elution . the medium / nucleoprotein bound complex may be optionally stored or transported , and is subsequently treated with eluents to remove undesirable proteins and inorganic salts . the partially purified complex may also be stored or transported . this method is particularly advantageous since it allows rapid isolation and purification of soluble nucleic acids from a large volume of biological fluids with easy handling and storage , stabilizing the samples against degradation prior to analysis . it also permits the purification and identification of shorter fragments of nucleic acids from bodily fluids which , until now , had not been identified . the method is widely useful to prepare samples formats that are convenient in diagnostic analytical methods .