DNAssist

DNAssist

DNAssist is open-source software used for DNA sequence design and analysis. It allows scientists to easily design primers, probes, and cloning strategies for PCR, sequencing, and molecular cloning experiments.
DNAssist image
dna primer-design pcr cloning open-source

DNAssist: Open-Source DNA Sequence Design and Analysis Software

Open-source software for designing primers, probes, and cloning strategies for PCR, sequencing, and molecular cloning experiments.

What is DNAssist?

DNAssist is an open-source, cross-platform software tool used for DNA sequence design and analysis. It was developed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to help scientists easily design primers, probes, and cloning strategies for common molecular biology experiments like PCR, sequencing, and cloning.

Some key features of DNAssist include:

  • Intuitive graphical user interface for visualizing DNA sequences
  • Tools for finding and avoiding primer dimers or hairpins
  • PCR primer and probe design with Tm and GC content calculations
  • Plasmid maps and sequence analysis tools
  • Support for designing Gibson assembly and golden gate cloning strategies
  • Ability to batch process large numbers of sequences
  • Export of publication-ready vector maps and sequence files

DNAssist runs on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux systems. The software and full documentation are available for free download under an open-source license from the NIST website. It provides scientists with a user-friendly desktop application for handling routine DNA sequence manipulations required in modern molecular biology labs.

DNAssist Features

Features

  1. Primer design
  2. Plasmid design
  3. Sequence analysis
  4. Cloning strategy design
  5. Graphical sequence viewer

Pricing

  • Open Source

Pros

Free and open source

User-friendly graphical interface

Supports common experimental workflows

Active community support and development

Cons

Limited to basic molecular biology workflows

Less features than commercial alternatives

Can be slow for large sequence analyses


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