As leaders in custom RNA synthesis, Dharmacon, Inc. was an early participant in the newly discovered field of RNA interference, and contributed several key scientific findings and some of the first commercially available, guaranteed to-silence siRNA reagents. This leadership continued through technical advances in bioinformatics and chemical modifications to improve performance. Today, their areas of research and research tools have expanded to support all aspects of RNAi interference; siRNA, lentiviral shRNA, tools for microRNA research and genome scale libraries for RNAi functional screens of genes, microRNAs and long non-coding RNAs. For over-expression, Dharmacon has one of the largest collections of cDNAs and ORFs commercially available.

More recently, Dharmacon released a suite of innovative CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing tools, leveraging their leadership in RNA synthesis and vector biology, providing one of the most comprehensive genome engineering toolset available. Their approach in providing ready-to-use synthetic and lentiviral guide RNAs and Cas9 nuclease reagents greatly simplifies the selection of appropriate tools for nearly every application. Their bioinformatics expertise has resulted in the first rational design algorithm for CRISPR-Cas9 functional gene knockout, so predesigned, genome-wide guide RNAs for human, mouse, and rat are only a click away.

Dharmacon Inc has been assessed and holds a certificate for ISO 9001:2008. This applies to the design and manufacture of RNA, DNA, and viral products for research and laboratory use, including RNA interference, gene expression, and gene editing.