By delivery platform
Vector systemPlasmidTransient expression in transfectable cells, a generous payload, and the starting material for almost everything else.Vector systemLentivirusIntegrating delivery that works in cells that are not dividing and in cells that resist transfection.Vector systemAAVMostly episomal, the usual starting point in vivo, with roughly 4.7 kb to work inside.Vector systemAdenovirusVery high transient expression and a large payload, at the cost of a strong immune response.Vector systemRetrovirusIntegration in dividing cells; a long-standing route to stable lines.Vector systempiggyBac transposonIntegration without a viral particle, cargo into the tens of kilobases, and excisable if you need it to be.Vector systemSynthetic mRNATransient, no DNA entering the nucleus, fast on and fast off.
By application
ApplicationGene overexpressionGetting a protein made above its native level without the artifacts that come with too much of it.ApplicationCRISPR genome editingDelivering the machinery for knockout, knock-in, base and prime editing.ApplicationRNA interferenceKnockdown when a knockout is the wrong tool, and the controls that make it believable.ApplicationReporters and sensorsBuilding the readout into the construct — transcriptional reporters, fusions and biosensors.ApplicationInducible expressionSmall-molecule control over when the payload is on, and what leakiness costs you.
Not sure which?
The platform guide walks through the decision, and the configurator applies the same reasoning to your answers in about a minute. Both end in the same place: a design proposed before anything is built.
Describe the experiment
Target cells, payload, how long you need expression, and what you will measure.