Lonza Introduces Integrated HT Nucleofector™ System for High-Throughput Non-Viral CRISPR and RNAi Screens in Hard-to-Transfect Cells

Lonza, in cooperation with Hamilton Company, has announced details of a new product integration that combines its high-throughput HT Nucleofector™ System with a Hamilton Microlab® NIMBUS workstation to enable faster and more effective RNAi and CRISPR screens. The combined system was featured at the Hamilton booth at SLAS2016 (Booth 807). The 384-well platform is a convenient tool for the efficient transfection of substrates used in non-viral library screens in biologically relevant and hard-to-transfect cell types (e.g. human T-cells), as it offers fast plate-processing times and easy integration into liquid handling systems.

In the past, RNAi screens using siRNA or shRNA were a common tool for performing genetic loss-of-function screens. More recently, the capabilities of these types of screens have been expanded following the advent of CRISPR/Cas9 libraries, which can be used to screen a genes’ role via targeted gene knockout or transcriptional modulation (CRISPRi/CRISPRa). Non-viral arrayed CRISPR libraries are also becoming available to supplement the pooled lentiviral libraries that have been used to date.

“Due to the lower frequency of knock-out events with CRISPR when compared to RNAi, ensuring the efficient delivery of CRISPR substrates into target cells is one of the key factors influencing screen success,” said Gregory Alberts, Global Subject Matter Expert at Lonza Bioscience Solutions.

He continued: “The Nucleofector™ Technology is a highly efficient, non-viral transfection method, especially effective when working with hard-to-transfect cell types like primary blood cells or stem cells. It’s 384-well platform, the HT Nucleofector™ System, expands this capability and renders it amenable to higher-throughput applications. The platform can process a 384-well plate in one minute and has a carousel capable of handling two plates. This speed, in combination with numerous ready-to-use protocols optimized for specific cell types and its compatibility with various automation platforms, allows for the straightforward setup RNAi or CRISPR library screens in a broad range of cell types.”