What are the most popular methods for monitoring the delivery of an siRNA/shRNA?
Fluorescently-labeled siRNA molecules are commercially available, and have been shown to be transfected and processed in a manner that is indistinguishable from unlabeled siRNA. Therefore, these molecules serve as a powerful tool for simultaneously optimizing both siRNA transfection efficiency and the knock down of gene expression. Quantitative gene expression analysis via a quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) assay is the gold standard for assessing the extent of gene expression knock down in an RNAi experiment. Alternative RNA detection methods, such as Northern blots, RNase protection assays, or end-point PCR, are not quantitative enough to reliably validate gene expression knock down. The SABiosciences RT2 qPCR Primer Assays are available for any gene in the human, mouse, or rat genome. Using these in combination with the pre-optimized SABiosciences RT2 SYBR Green qPCR Master Mixes, and the RT2 First Strand Kit (C-03) provides the easiest, and most reliable, method for
