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.