Minicircle DNA
Small, but powerful: the next-generation of backbone-free DNA vectors
PlasmidFactory’s proprietary Minicircle technology enables the production of small, backbone-free, supercoiled DNA vectors that contain almost exclusively the gene of interest. Generated from a parental plasmid via site-specific intramolecular recombination, the bacterial backbone is precisely removed — resulting in a minimalistic, highly defined circular and supercoiled DNA molecule.
The reduced size and absence of bacterial backbone sequences enhance transfection efficiency, allow a safer regulatory profile, promote stronger and more stable transgene expression, and lower CpG-associated immunogenicity and DNA toxicity compared to “classical” plasmids. These features make Minicircle DNA particularly well suited for demanding applications such as cell and gene therapy, viral vector production (e.g., AAV), and vaccination approaches (e.g., as mRNA template).
Bacterial backbone-free, small, supercoiled:
- No antibiotic resistance or other bacterial markers
- Less immunogenicity
- Lower DNA toxicity
- Highter transfection efficiency
- Reduced transgene silencing
- Stronger, more stable gene expression
- Almost no cargo size restriction
- Improved yield – minimized costs
- No retro-packaging in AAV production
- Enables virus-free gene transfers
- Proven in clinical trials
Proven in clinical trials
Minicircles have been evaluated in multiple comparative efficiency studies. In these studies, gene expression from Minicircle DNA consistently matched and, in most cases, significantly exceeded that of the corresponding plasmid containing the identical expression cassette.
Performance has been demonstrated across diverse cell types and multiple transfection protocols, including lipid nanoparticles (LNP), electroporation, lipofection, magnetofection, hydrodynamic injection, and jet injection.
More efficient. More stable. Safer.
Our quality grades
Scalable plasmid and Minicircle DNA — from research to clinical manufacturing.
PlasmidFactory offers clearly defined quality grades to support every stage of your project — ensuring regulatory alignment, performance consistency, and seamless scale-up within one trusted CDMO.