CompoZr® Zinc Finger Nucleases (ZFNs) for Biological Manufacturing

SAFC recognizes that one of the most time consuming and costly endeavors biopharmaceutical companies face is creating robust, efficient cell lines. Zinc Finger Nuclease (ZFN) technology allows for easy creation of novel CHO cell lines with precise and heritable gene additions, deletions or modifications.

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Figure A. ZFNs are a class of engineered DNA-binding proteins that facilitate targeted editing of the genome by creating double-strand breaks in DNA at user-specified locations. Figure B. Double-strand breaks are important for site-specific mutagenesis in that they stimulate the cell's natural DNA-repair processes, namely homologous recombination (HR) and non-homologous end joining (NHEJ). Using well-established and robust protocols, these cellular processes can be harnessed to generate precisely targeted genomic edits resulting in cell lines, with targeted gene deletions (knockouts), integrations (knock-ins), or modifications.  

Applications of Cell Lines

SAFC has created catalog ZFNs for use in the biopharmaceutical industry. A summary of bioproduction applications using ZFN technology is shown below:

ZFN Formats

We offer ZFN reagents in DNA plasmid format as well as mRNA. mRNA allows for transient expression without the ability to integrate into the genome, which can occur using plasmid DNA. Recently, we’ve added ZFNs which are fluorescently tagged! This allows the customer to perform FACS, resulting in an enriched pool.

For ZFN inquiries please email CHOZN@sial.com and a scientist will discuss your project goals with you and propose the best strategy.