- No guesswork – A mixture of siRNAs has a better chance of success than a single siRNA design.
- No wasted time and money due to failed siRNA designs
- More regions of the genes can be screened for silencing
The Recombinant Human Dicer Enzyme Kit uses an ultra-active form of human recombinant dicer enzyme that can cleave more than 95% of dsRNA templateinto 22 bp siRNAs within 12 hours under optimized reaction conditions (Figure 1). This provides sufficient siRNAs in every single species to achieve effective gene silencing(1). siRNAs are 21- to 23-nucleotide RNA molecules that can cause targeted gene silencing in mammalian cells through a process known as RNA interference (2,3,4). In nature, siRNAs are generated by ribonuclease III cleavage of longer double stranded RNAs (dsRNAs). When dsRNAs are transfected directly into mammalian cells, they activate the interferon system and provoke non-specific gene suppression and cytotoxic response (2). siRNAs have proven to be effective at specifically silencing gene expression without causing any interferon response.
StorageThe Dicer Enzyme Kit is shipped on dry ice. The recombinant human dicer enzyme should be stored at –20°C upon receipt. If stored properly, all reagents are stable for 6 months.
References:1. Myers, J.W. et al. (2003) Nature Biotechnology 21: 324-328.2. Elbashir, S.M. et al. (2001) Nature 411: 494-498.3. Caplen, N.J. et al. (2001) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 98: 9742-9747.4. Sharp, P.A. (2001) Genes and Development 15: 485-490.
