Here at Mirus Bio, they don’t call us the Transfection Experts for no reason! Since 1995, our R&D team has been at the forefront of the animal cell transfection field, developing reagents for delivery of all classes of genetic material, with the goal of providing a solution for every cell type.
That said, the first look at our product list can be overwhelming… so many choices of reagents! What are their differences? How do you choose one? What is up with these product names?
Mirus transfection reagents are formulated with proprietary cationic lipids and polymers, the result of extensive screening and testing to find the optimal components for different applications such as plasmid delivery, mRNA delivery, siRNA or oligo delivery and more. With 17 unique transfection reagents currently available, it can be tough to determine which one might work best for a particular application or workflow. Let’s explore "What’s in a (Product) Name."
While the names of some reagents, like TransIT®-Insect or TransIT®-Jurkat, are pretty self-explanatory (they were optimized for transfection of insect-derived and Jurkat cells, respectively), others are a bit more vague. Take TransIT®-LT1 for example. In this product, 'LT' refers to 'Low Toxicity' as it is our gentlest plasmid delivery reagent. TransIT®-LT1 was the reagent that brought Mirus to life and has continued on as one of our most popular products to present day.
In other cases, product names may suggest a single application, but in practice, these products have much more flexibility! The best example for this case is TransIT-VirusGEN®, our flagship reagent for lentivirus and AAV production workflows. While TransIT-VirusGEN® was originally developed for delivery of viral production plasmids, our collaboration with RoosterBio has uncovered that TransIT-VirusGEN® has a knack for delivering mRNA too! The scientists at RoosterBio developed a GMP-compatible process for mRNA delivery to mesenchymal stromal cells.1
The flexibility of TransIT-VirusGEN® is a prime example of how important it is to not be pigeon-holed by a product name. Throughout the product development process, our scientists at Mirus Bio test a plethora of potential applications for reagent candidates, but certainly not all possible use cases. Researchers are always encouraged to empirically determine whether a product will work for their application.
The figure below can serve as a relaxed reference for the known compatibility of Mirus Transfection Reagents with different molecular cargo (see above about the avoidance of pigeonholing). It is important to note that cell type also plays a critical role in the success of a transfection experiment. Our Reagent Agent® tool can help guide the decision-making process when choosing a transfection reagent for a given cell type and cargo, and as always, our Technical Support team is here to help too!
Have a question about a product name or suggestion for the name of our next transfection reagent? Hit up the comments section below!
References
- M. T. Doolin, et al. A GMP-Compatible Process for the Efficient Transfection of MSCS with mRNA [abstract]. The 26th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy, 16-20 May 2023. Abstract No. 547.