Synthego, a leading provider of genome engineering solutions headquartered in Silicon Valley, announced today a new product line in the CRISPRevolution product family: chemically modified synthetic guide RNA, including modified full length 100-mer synthetic single guide RNA (sgRNA). Applications of the CRISPR technology include drug development, agriculture, gene therapy, animal modeling, bio-based materials and more.The CRISPR/Cas9 technology has made it possible to edit the genome of a wide range of cell-types and model organisms, but obtaining consistent editing efficiencies remains a challenge. With this in mind, Synthego developed chemically modified sequences that “can provide additional RNA stability with improvements in editing efficiency for particular cell types (e.g. stem cells, K562, prokaryotic) and genomic targets that prove otherwise challenging to edit.” In addition, “chemically modified RNA improves in vivo stability by protecting RNA molecules against exonuclease attack - allowing it to persist longer in certain cell types and regions of genomic DNA that can be challenging to edit using conventional guide RNAs.”

How CRISPR works: Known as the “molecular scissor”, Cas9 is a nuclease that is responsible for the cutting of a sequence of DNA that has been identified by a CRISPR guide RNA. The “cutting”, which occurs through a biochemical interaction, allows the gene to be disabled, repaired or altogether replaced with a new strand of DNA. Source: http://www.synthego.com/crispr/Synthetic RNA has many advantages over or in vitro transcribed or plasmid-derived guides: lower labor costs, greater accuracy and consistency, less laboratory time, faster transfection readiness, and no risk of integrating foreign DNA into cell lines. “There is no need to design, construct, sequence verify and purify plasmid DNA for every guide you want to test.”Genome editing researchers, such as Matthew Porteus’ research group, part of the Division of Stem Cell Transplantation and Regenerative Medicine at Stanford University Medical School and Andrew Scharenberg’s Lab at Seattle Children’s Research Institute (affiliated with the University of Washington) have been able to make significant breakthroughs using Synthego’s chemically modified synthetic sgRNA and find it is an indispensable tool in their CRISPR research.“We have found that Synthego provides high quality chemically modified synthetic sgRNA which have become a vital tool for our CRISPR/Cas9 based research program,” said Matthew.“Their product allows us to quickly evaluate, in a cost-effective manner, the best guide RNA to stimulate genome editing, including by homologous recombination, in therapeutically relevant human stem cells and primary human T-cells. My team has also found that they deliver excellent customer service and are willing to work closely with us in terms of addressing our experimental needs. I highly recommend them.”"Synthego's chemically modified sgRNA provides a critical tool for our CRISPR research when it comes to difficult stem cell gene targets," said Andrew. "Our research into stem cell-based human therapeutics presents editing challenges that require the highest efficiency guides."Synthego claims to be the first company to offer modified synthetic sgRNA at a nanomole scale and at an affordable price. “Previous sources of modified synthetic sgRNAs cost up to 5X more and took up to 8 weeks to ship. Synthego is able to ship the modified synthetic sgRNA in as little as 5 days.”Synthego at SynBioBeta LondonKevin Holden, Head of Synthetic Biology at Synthego will be speaking at SynBioBeta London 2017, which is being held from April 4 to April 6 at Imperial College London. He will be participating in Session 8 which will highlight advancements in metabolic engineering for synthetic biology. This session’s focus is on the tools and outcomes of gene editing and how biology is becoming easier to engineer.Kevin earned his Ph.D. from University of California, Davis in microbiology and has over 8 years industry experience in synthetic biology and the engineering of metabolic pathways in microbes. At Synthego, Kevin is responsible for integrating CRISPR into novel engineering and automation technologies and partnering with leaders in the CRISPR field to help advance Synthego’s synthetic sgRNA platform.