Addgene's Mission

Addgene is a global, nonprofit repository that was created to help scientists share plasmids. Plasmids are DNA-based research reagents commonly used in the life sciences. When scientists publish research papers, they deposit their associated plasmids at Addgene. Then, when other scientists read the publication, they have easy access to the plasmids needed to conduct future experiments. Before Addgene, scientists were tasked with repeatedly shipping plasmids to each new requesting scientist. Now, scientists ship their plasmids to Addgene once, and we take care of the quality control, MTA compliance, shipping, and record-keeping.

For scientists looking to use plasmids, Addgene provides a searchable database of high-quality plasmids, pooled libraries, and plasmid kits, available at affordable prices. All plasmids in Addgene’s repository are sequenced for quality control purposes and tracked with barcodes from the time they arrive at our facility until they are packed for shipment. Scientists can request plasmids through Addgene’s online ordering system. As of 2016, Addgene provides ready-to-use AAV and lentivirus preparations of commonly requested plasmids as a service to scientists. And as of 2022, Addgene also provides recombinant antibodies to help facilitate scientific research.