ScreenFect GmbH was founded in 2012 by Dr Pavel Levkin and Dr Gary Davidson as the result of a successful interdisciplinary research collaboration at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany. Innovative chemistry in Dr Levkin's group combined with the biological and cell screening expertise in Dr Davidson's group allowed rapid transfer of technology from an academic setting to a commercial business.
Delivery of nucleic acids such as plasmid DNA or siRNA into cells is fundamental for biological research. There is a high demand for more efficient non-viral vectors due to their ease of use and safe handling. We have developed a facile modular method based on click chemistry for parallel synthesis of libraries of lipid-like molecules. Candidate molecules are selected by cell-based high throughput screenings and then undergo extensive optimization to generate specific transfection reagents. Over 300 chemicals have been synthesized and several of them showed highly efficient transfection in different cell types, surpassing the efficiency of several popular commercial transfection reagents. We have developed a range of multi purpose as well as more specialized transfection reagents, including ScreenFect®A, ScreenFect®siRNA and ScreenFect®mRNA and ScreenFect®65.
With new patented technologies ScreenFect GmbH continues to expanding their repertoire of novel chemicals and reagents for the transfection of diverse cells. Sales and distribution are promoted by a growing list of worldwide partners.