siRNA as a tool for streamlining functional genomic studies

RNA interference (RNAi) has the potential to accelerate greatly the pace of discovery biology. The active RNAi intermediate is the small interfering RNA (siRNA), a discrete nucleic acid duplex that can be generated by several methods and used to directly silence gene expression. The choice of methods employed depends largely on the research or therapeutic objective. In most cases, rational design offers several advantages over random design, including greater predictability of function, higher silencing potency and longer duration of suppression. Of the production methods, chemical synthesis provides the fastest production capability, the highest purity and the easiest scalability for high-throughput strategies. Effective coupling of several methods gives the greatest potential for the application of RNAi across functional genomic and target validation studies. Furthermore, the coupling of RNAi with cellular profiling technologies will provide opportunities to streamline drug discovery significantly.