The benefits of synthetic RNA over plasmid-derived or in vitro transcribed (IVT) guides include faster transfection readiness, greater accuracy and consistency, less laboratory time and lower labor costs. Because synthetic RNA is 100% DNA-free, there’s no risk of integrating foreign DNA into cell lines.
There is no need to design, construct, sequence verify and purify plasmid DNA for every guide you want to test. And there’s no need to spend hours working with expensive IVT kits.
Synthetic RNA has the advantage, particularly when forming a ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex, of improving editing efficiency and consistency while reducing off-target effects.