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Contact Us

We are committed to providing quality services and products for our customers. Please reach out to us with any questions you may have and a member of our team will get in touch with you as soon as possible. Please complete the request a quote form.

How to Order

How do I place an order with a quote?

If you are ordering from our product catalog, simply add the desired item(s) to your cart and place an online order.

If you will be ordering a customized product or any of our services, please complete the request a quote form first. Once you have a quote, submit your order using one of these two methods:

  • Purchase Order: Email or fax your purchase order.
  • Credit Card: Email or fax your signed PO specifying that you will pay with a credit card. DO NOT send credit card information via e-mail. Upon the order completion, you will receive an invoice with details on how to pay with a credit card.

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +1-301-822-4513

Fax: +1(301)251-6110

How should I send my plasmid?

Plasmids in TE buffer may be shipped at room temperature. Please check with us about shipping options if you use other buffers. We usually recommend shipping on dry ice (or similar packaging) to reduce the chance of DNA degradation. Plasmids sent on filter paper will not be accepted. We also strongly recommend overnight shipping using an express carrier (e.g., UPS, FedEx) with tracking to minimize transit time.

To ensure your plasmids arrive at our facility safely, we recommend the following:

1. Always wrap plasmids in parafilm or use screw tops in order to ensure the vial stays closed during transit.

2. Place your vials inside a hard outer container or use plenty of bubble wrap to ensure the plasmids are adequately protected during transit.

3. If you need to send your plasmids on dry ice then try to use dry ice pellets.

How should I address my package?

Charles River Laboratories

Attn: Plasmid and Cloning

Ref # [quote number]

5 Research Court

Rockville, MD 20850 USA

What should I include in my package?

  • A copy of the corresponding quote for the plasmids included in the package.
  • The number of plasmids included in the package should also be noted to minimize the possibility of missing a plasmid within a package.

How do I know Charles River has received my DNA?

After your package has been delivered, your plasmid will be logged into our system and given an internal tracking number. A Plasmid Received confirmation email will be sent to the email provided on the quote and will indicate how many plasmids were received and to which quote they have been matched. If multiple plasmids for multiple orders were shipped in the same package then multiple Plasmid Received confirmation emails will be sent.

If you do not receive a Plasmid Received confirmation email within 48 hours of your package being delivered please contact us immediately.

How much plasmid do I need to send?

Please refer to the table below for the recommended amounts to send us for your requested service. When possible, we recommend sending DNA obtained from a maxiprep. If you do not have the recommended amount of plasmid, we can prepare endotoxin-free DNA from your sample for an additional fee.

Service Amount of plasmid to send
Cloning 5-10 µg at conc. of >0.5 µg/µL
Transformation (plasmid preps) >1 µg
Small-scale AAV packaging
Titer: 5x1012 GC/mL		 >150 µg
Large-scale AAV packaging
Titer: 1013 GC/mL		 >300 µg
Small-scale lentivirus packaging
Titer: 2x108 IFU/mL		 >150 µg at 1 µg/µL or higher
Large-scale lentivirus packaging
Titer: 109 IFU/mL		 >200 µg at 1 µg/µL or higher
Adenovirus packaging 5-10 µg at conc. of >0.5 µg/µL

When and how will my order be shipped?

If the requested product is in stock, your order will be processed and shipped as soon as possible. If your order is not available for immediate shipping (i.e., when ordering custom products and services), you will receive an estimated timeline on the quote you receive from our technical support team.

Orders containing viral particles will be shipped on dry ice. For domestic orders within the United States, we use FedEx “Priority Overnight” shipping. For countries outside of the US, we use FedEx “International Priority” shipping or World Courier. If you prefer a different shipping option, such as using your own courier account with FedEx or using your own courier, please let us know and we will only charge for the cost of dry ice and packaging. For international orders, you or your organization will be responsible for all import duties, taxes and brokerage fees that may be incurred from the shipment. To avoid these fees and to save cost on shipping, we recommend placing your order through one of our distributors.

How long does shipping take?

Region Time
Continental US Next day
Canada Next day-4 days
Continental Europe 2-5 days
Asia 4-7 days
Australia/New Zealand 4-7 days
South America 5-7 days

Please click here for a list of our international distributors

Frequently Asked Questions

Want to know more about any of our products or services? Start by checking out our Research-grade and CGMP FAQs. If you still have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us!

Research-grade FAQs

Which virus will work best for my experiments?

Below is a quick comparison of the three most popular recombinant viruses being used for research and gene therapy applications.

For more information, please read our Viral Delivery Guide or visit the AAV, Adenovirus, or Lentivirus Packaging pages.

How do I know which scale of viral packaging to select?

The scale you choose will depend on the total amount of virus you need and your application. Our small-scale packaging services are a cost-effective choice for doing pilot studies in vitro, but is not suitable for in vivo work as the viral particles are not purified. Our large-scale packaging services are ideal for in vitro or in vivo work and provide enough viral particles for most small animal studies. We also offer preclinical packaging services if you require large quantities of virus for larger animal studies (e.g. primates). We also offer clinical-grade GMP viral production for use in clinical trials or commercial manufacturing.

What are the biosafety requirements for using AAV, adenovirus, and lentivirus?

Below are our biosafety recommendations for the handling of our viruses. Please refer to your institution’s Occupational Safety and Health Office for more guidance.

Do you sell wild-type viruses?

Vigene offers only recombinant AAV, adenovirus, and lentivirus products and services. We do not work with or sell wild-type viruses.

How should viruses be stored?

For AAV and adenovirus:

Avoid repeated freeze-thaw cycles that can decrease the viral titer. Aliquot the viral stock upon arrival and keep the aliquots at -80°C for long-term storage.


For lentivirus:

Freeze-thaw cycles decrease lentivirus titer dramatically. Store the viral stock immediately upon arrival. Aliquot to desired vials right before use.

How does ordering and shipping work?

Please see our How to Order page for more information.

CGMP FAQs

How does a CGMP project differ from a research project?

CGMP projects differ from research grade projects by the scale, production conditions, project complexity, and level of documentation. First, CGMP projects (e.g., viral vectors for gene therapy) are conducted at a much larger scale than those typical for research because CGMP projects must generate drug substance and drug product in sufficient quantities to enable clinical studies that may involve dozens or even hundreds of patients. Second and CGMP projects must be under full quality assurance oversight, in validated clean rooms with controlled air supplies. Finally and CGMP productions require good documentation practice and testing to ensure traceability of every step as well as safety of the drug substance and drug product. Detailed records are kept of all source materials, equipment used, responsible personnel, and testing results.

What are the biggest contributors to the cost and timescale of a CGMP campaign?

CGMP viral vectors are produced in dedicated manufacturing suites at scales sufficient for clinical studies. Therefore, the availability of the CGMP suite can be a significant contributor to the time scale, as these facilities are often reserved months in advance. The CGMP campaign requires more stringent material quality control measures in order to deliver drug products that are safe for use. As each CGMP campaign is unique, all stages are customized to ensure the maximum production of viral titers in a safe, reproducible manner. The development of the unique methods required to scale up a project (process development) contributes additional time and cost.

What are the commonly overlooked components of a CGMP project?

The time necessary for completion of a CGMP campaign must be considered when planning a clinical study. Before viral production begins, sufficient amounts of source material (either plasmids or viral seed stocks) must be generated, and both master cell banks and working cell banks must be established for the producer cell line. In addition, many parameters involved in the scale up of the project must be optimized to ensure efficient, reliable, and robust production of material. This systematic optimization procedure, known as process development, is a critical phase of the campaign. Finally, FDA regulations require material qualification, assay development, assay qualification, release testing, and, long-term stability to ensure safety and sterility of the drug product.

What is the typical process for getting a quote?

Because every CGMP campaign is unique, all quotes are individualized for the specific needs of the project. We will start with a conference call once a Non-Disclosure Agreement is in place. During the call, we will inquire about the basic project details that we will need in order to generate an accurate quote, including the following:

  • The number and types of specific vectors needed, plus the transgene sizes for each
  • The scale of the project (total virus yield)
  • What technology (materials or processes), if any, is available to be transferred to us
  • Whether previous batches have been produced, and if those records are available for review
  • Whether the formulation requirements are known
  • The time frame by which the clinical-grade material must be produced
  • The country (or countries) in which the clinical trials will be held