As with many of the other RNAi Specs filters, our AI extracts Format from vendor information and databases. There could be some confusion about what different formats mean, so here's a quick summary:
Viral particles – Your plasmid and RNAi payload are encapsulated/packaged in a virus (e.g. lentivirus, adenovirus, etc.), ready for transduction.
Plasmids – A DNA construct, comprising bacterial and/or viral promoters, to transfect target cells or packaged for viral transduction. May come as a bacterial glycerol stock.
Virus – Often synonymous with viral particles. Category was mined from the vendor.
In principle, we classify products using the narrowest categorization we can infer from the vendor. For example, if a vendor categorizes a reagent as a lentiviral particle, although it might also fit in with our lentivirus Format, lentiviral particle is a narrower, more specific category so that is what we use.