Boston Children's Research Services

About the service

Production of custom rAAV vectors specific for individual investigators needs. Purified AAV vectors are suitable for both in vivo and in vitro applications. Available serotypes include AAV1, AAV2, AAV5, AAV6, AAV7, AAV8, AAV9, AAV/retro, rh10, DJ, Anc80, SHH10, 7m8, PHP variants (PHP.B, PHP.eB, PHP.S), Cap-B10, Cap-B22, MaCPNS1, and MaCPNS2, etc. For novel AAV serotypes that are not listed above, please contact us.

Release criterion

• Regular scale custom AAV prep
  • 250ul~400ul purified virus with a genomic titer between e+12gc/ml~e+14gc/ml.
• Half scale custom AAV prep
  • 100~150ul purified virus with genomic titer between e+12gc/ml~e+14gc/ml.

*The release criteria above may not apply to AAV vectors with the following:

• Oversize genomes (>4.7 kb from ITR-ITR including ITRs)
• Self-complementary genomes
• Genomes producing shRNA under Pol II or Pol III promoters.
• Genomes expressing toxic genes under ubiquitous promoters.

Preparing for the order submission

• Amount of plasmid DNA
  • 150ug of verified pAAV plasmid for a Regular scale custom AAV prep.
  • 80ug of verified pAAV plasmid for a Half scale custom AAV prep.
• DNA concentration is preferable to be between 0.5ug/ul~2ug/ul.
• Verify the integrity of the ITRs in the pAAV plasmids by conducting digestion with SmaI or XmaI. Each ITR contains two SmaI/XmaI sites – digestion will cut out the backbone of the plasmid and result in a 2.6~3.0kb band on the gel. Increased amounts of linearized full-length plasmid indicate the occurrence of recombination.
• Vector map and/or Sequence file.
• Information about your gene of interest or insert including any specific handling requirements such as toxicity, oncogenic properties, pro-apoptotic effects, etc.

About the service

Production of custom VSV-G pseudotyped lentiviral vectors specific for individual investigators needs.

Release criterion

• For lentiviral vectors purified with ultracentrifugation protocol.
  • 150ul~200ul concentrated virus with a genomic titer between e+11gc/ml~e+13gc/ml.
  • Purified viral prep is suitable for both in vivo and in vitro applications.
• For lentiviral vectors purified with Lenti-X concentrator protocol.
  • 800ul~900ul virus with a genomic titer between e+8gc/ml~e+10gc/ml.
  • Purified viral prep is suitable for in vitro applications only.

Preparing for the order submission

• At least 100ug of verified lentiviral plasmid with a preferable DNA concentration between 0.5ug/ul~2ug/ul.
• Vector map and/or Sequence file.
• Information about your gene of interest or insert including any specific handling requirements such as toxicity, oncogenic properties, pro-apoptotic effects, etc.

*General recommendation about plasmid preparation

1. It’s recommended to purify pAAV or lentiviral plasmids using an endotoxin-free protocol.
2. Invitrogen Stbl3 or NEB stable competent cells are recommended to avoid recombination during plasmid amplification.
3. Restriction digestion is always recommended to confirm the plasmid after amplification.

About the service

Pre-made AAV and Lentiviral stocks that are ready for immediate ordering. Please reach out to the core for inventory and availability information.

• Pre-made AAV-CAG-GFP and AAV-CAG-Cre in varies serotypes
• Premade reporter AAVs, Optogenetics AAVs, Chemogenetics AAVs, in selected serotypes
• Premade Lenti-CMV-GFP and Lenti-CMV-Cre
• List of available off-the-shelf AAVs
• Please feel free to reach out if you're looking for something not listed. We’ll do our best to help.

• Consultation in the design and use of viral vectors
• Pilot AAV preparation – crude lysate of the transfected cells, without further purification.
• Plasmid Amplification and Characterization
• QPCR Titration

*Boston Children’s Hospital Viral Core: Price Changes Effective February 1, 2025

Due to cost increases, Boston Children’s Hospital Viral Core will implement updated pricing starting February 1, 2025. This adjustment enables us to maintain the high-quality viral vector services and resources our customers rely on. The upcoming prices are listed below.

If these changes may impact your experimental planning, we recommend placing your orders by January 31, 2025. For any questions or concerns, please contact yiming.zhang@childrens.harvard.edu. Thank you for your understanding and continued support!

Online order submission

Please submit orders using the BCH ilab site.

If you don't have an account with ilab, please following the instruction below to complete the registration.

1. Complete the registration form on the sign-up page. The light blue register link is located at the top right of the screen.
2. Receive a Welcome Email from iLab (typically within one business day) with login credentials.

If you have an account with ilab, please log in and submit order request under desired service options. A PO is required for payment information. Please reach out to the core for a quote if needed.

If you have an ilab account, but could not find Boston Children's Hospital Viral Core, please follow the steps below:

• Login to iLab
• On the list all cores page, change the view to "Cores at Other Institutions"
• Search for "Boston Children's Hospital"
• Click on "Viral Core"

Plasmid submission

The plasmid/virus can be collected or delivered either in person or by mail.

• In person in the drop-off/pickup fridge
  • The plasmid sample needs to be labeled clearly with the plasmid name, your name, and the service ID of the online order (if available).
  • Where: Drop-off/pickup refrigerator
    Center for Life Sciences, 13th Flr, CLS 13060
    3 Blackfan Street
    Boston, MA 02115
• Mail in the DNA samples 
  • Shipping address:
    Boston Children's Hospital Viral Core
    Attn: Yiming Zhang
    3 Blackfan Street, CLS13060
    Boston, MA, 02115