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Updated: Aug 10, 2026

MISSION esiRNA for RNAi Screening in Mammalian Cells
Published on: May 12, 2010
Picking a winner: new mechanistic insights into the design of effective siRNAs
Delquin Gong1, James E Ferrell
1Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5020, USA.
Abstract:
Recent work has shown that the efficacy of a small interfering RNA (siRNA) for silencing gene expression is a function of how easy it is to unwind the siRNA from the 5'-antisense end. Based on these insights, one group has designed an algorithm that substantially improves the odds of picking an effective siRNA, and two groups have shown that 'forked' or 'frayed' siRNAs, which should be easier to unwind from the 5'-antisense end, are more effective than conventional siRNAs. These strategies represent important steps towards the rational design of effective siRNAs.
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