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Expi293 Expression System
Trust the industry standard for rapid, high-yield transient HEK 293 expression
Every minute counts when it comes to expressing drug candidates. That's why the Gibco Expi293 Expression System is the tried-and-true choice for transient expression in mammalian 293 cells. This rapid, high-yield protein production system is based on high density culture of Expi293F(TM) Cells in Expi293(TM) Expression Medium and powered by Expifectamine(TM) 293, a cationic lipid-based transfection reagent. All of the system components work together to allow access to recombinant 293-derived proteins in just five to seven days, with a 2-10-fold increase in protein yields compared to previous generation transient expression systems. Get the protein yields that you need faster.
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Benefits of the Expi293 Expression System
Get more protein while reducing hands-on time and waste
Click image to enlarge
The Expi293 Expression System is designed to deliver up to 6x more protein in just one week, compared with other transient 293 expression systems that can take two weeks or more. This is in part due to the fact that Expi293F Cells are adapted to achieve higher pg/cell/day productivity than standard HEK 293 cells, and the Expifectamine 293 Transfection Reagent and enhancers enable high-efficiency transfection and expression levels of high-density HEK 293 cultures. Additionally, the Expi293 Expression System requires less plasticware, which means less waste and more incubator space. The graph showcases the expression of human IgG and Fc-tagged Cripto, achieving expression levels of over 1g/L in the Expi293 Expression System.
Use your preferred culture format without sacrificing yield
Click image to enlarge
The Expi293 Expression System is designed to support robust protein production in a variety of culture vessels. In small and large-scale formats—and everything in between—you can express the protein you need. The graph highlights the expression of Fc-tagged Cripto, which achieves similar volumetric protein yields at three different scales.
Fully documented cGMP-banked cells
The graph represents the equivalent rabbit IgG titers are obtained in cGMP-banked Expi293F cells and catalog Expi293F cells at 30 mL scale using the Expi293 Expression System.
- Fully documented cGMP-banked cell line
- Derived from the same Master Seed Bank as standard Expi293F Cells (Cat No. A14527)
- Pre-adapted to Expi293 Expression Medium
- A component of the fully integrated, animal origin-free Expi293 Expression System for applications requiring cGMP-banked cells
- Flexible commercial licensing options with no royalties
Get more protein while reducing hands-on time and waste
Click image to enlarge
The Expi293 Expression System is designed to deliver up to 6x more protein in just one week, compared with other transient 293 expression systems that can take two weeks or more. This is in part due to the fact that Expi293F Cells are adapted to achieve higher pg/cell/day productivity than standard HEK 293 cells, and the Expifectamine 293 Transfection Reagent and enhancers enable high-efficiency transfection and expression levels of high-density HEK 293 cultures. Additionally, the Expi293 Expression System requires less plasticware, which means less waste and more incubator space. The graph showcases the expression of human IgG and Fc-tagged Cripto, achieving expression levels of over 1g/L in the Expi293 Expression System.
Use your preferred culture format without sacrificing yield
Click image to enlarge
The Expi293 Expression System is designed to support robust protein production in a variety of culture vessels. In small and large-scale formats—and everything in between—you can express the protein you need. The graph highlights the expression of Fc-tagged Cripto, which achieves similar volumetric protein yields at three different scales.
Fully documented cGMP-banked cells
The graph represents the equivalent rabbit IgG titers are obtained in cGMP-banked Expi293F cells and catalog Expi293F cells at 30 mL scale using the Expi293 Expression System.
- Fully documented cGMP-banked cell line
- Derived from the same Master Seed Bank as standard Expi293F Cells (Cat No. A14527)
- Pre-adapted to Expi293 Expression Medium
- A component of the fully integrated, animal origin-free Expi293 Expression System for applications requiring cGMP-banked cells
- Flexible commercial licensing options with no royalties
What’s in the Expi293 Expression system?
The Expi293 Expression System brings together a high-expressing 293 cell line, a chemically defined serum–free culture medium, and a high-efficiency transfection reagent with specialized enhancers.
- 2 vials of frozen Gibco Expi293F Cells
- 1 L of Gibco Expi293 Expression Medium
- 1 Gibco ExpiFectamine 293 Transfection Kit, sufficient to transfect 1 L of culture
- Gibco Opti-MEM I Reduced Serum Medium
- An antibody-expressing positive control vector
Additional capabilities of Expi293 Transient Protein Expression System for structural biology and inducible expression
Expect more from the system that transformed mammalian transient expression. Now introducing three additional cell lines and a labeling kit that unlock new possibilities within the Expi293 Transient Protein Expression System. With features accommodating structural biology and inducible protein expression applications, you can expand your work with the same incredible yield and intricate structure you’ve experienced with our other Expi293 Expression Systems. Get the high yields, rapid time to protein (just 5–7 days), and reproducibility you’ve come to expect, with the added flexibility to suit a broader range of applications and proteins.
The Expi293 system’s additional capabilities include:
- Glycan modulation
- Inducible expression
- Methionine protein labeling
Expi293F GnTI- Cell Line
With the Expi293F GnTI- Cell Line you no longer need to compromise yield to gain simplicity. These cells were designed to facilitate analysis techniques that depend on the glycosylation state of the protein.
Key benefits:
- >30x higher yield than next-best performing product
- Simplified glycan patterns
Expi293F GnTI- cells express proteins at levels comparable to parental Expi293 cells. By comparison, expression levels of ATCC GnTI- cells adapted into FreeStyle293 media with PEI transfection are >30-fold lower than Expi293F GnTI- cells in the Expi293 System.
Expression of a GPCR in Expi293 (Lanes 1-4) and Expi293 GnTI- (Lanes 5-8) cells under varying expression conditions.
Expi293F Inducible GnTI- cell line
Expi293F Inducible GnTI- cell line you can achieve tunable expression of glycan modified proteins. These cells were designed to facilitate the analysis of complex proteins without adding workflow steps or sacrificing yield in your structural biology work and other applications.
Key benefits:
- >8x higher yield over existing T-REx 293 cells
- Tunable expression of proteins
- Simplified glycan patterns
Upon full induction in pcDNA5.0/TO vector, Expi293F Inducible GnTI- cells express proteins at levels comparable to parental Expi293F cells. By comparison, expression levels of T-REx 293 cells adapted into FreeStyle293 media with PEI transfection are 8-fold lower than the Expi293F Inducible GnTI- cell line in the Expi293 System.
Expression of a GPCR with different levels of induction.
Click image to enlarge
Glycan patterns for human IgG expressed in (A) Expi293F and (B) Expi293F GnTI- cell lines.
Expi293F Inducible cell line
The Expi293F Inducible cell line allows for regulated and tunable expression of proteins that may benefit from slower expression kinetics such as toxic proteins and membrane proteins. These cells were also designed to facilitate the study of cell models that require the regulation of protein expression.
Key benefits:
- >9x higher yield than T-REx 293 cells
- Tunable expression of proteins
Upon full induction in pcDNA5.0/TO vector, Expi293F Tet-inducible cells express proteins at levels comparable to parental Expi293F cells. By comparison, expression levels of T-REx 293 cells adapted in FreeStyle293 media with PEI transfection are nearly 10-fold lower than the Expi293F Inducible cell line in the Expi293 System.
Cells were transfected with an Fc-fusion protein in pcDN5.0/TO vector and then induced with different levels of tetracycline in a dose-dependent manner.
Expi293F GnTI- Cell Line
With the Expi293F GnTI- Cell Line you no longer need to compromise yield to gain simplicity. These cells were designed to facilitate analysis techniques that depend on the glycosylation state of the protein.
Key benefits:
- >30x higher yield than next-best performing product
- Simplified glycan patterns
Expi293F GnTI- cells express proteins at levels comparable to parental Expi293 cells. By comparison, expression levels of ATCC GnTI- cells adapted into FreeStyle293 media with PEI transfection are >30-fold lower than Expi293F GnTI- cells in the Expi293 System.
Expression of a GPCR in Expi293 (Lanes 1-4) and Expi293 GnTI- (Lanes 5-8) cells under varying expression conditions.
Expi293F Inducible GnTI- cell line
Expi293F Inducible GnTI- cell line you can achieve tunable expression of glycan modified proteins. These cells were designed to facilitate the analysis of complex proteins without adding workflow steps or sacrificing yield in your structural biology work and other applications.
Key benefits:
- >8x higher yield over existing T-REx 293 cells
- Tunable expression of proteins
- Simplified glycan patterns
Upon full induction in pcDNA5.0/TO vector, Expi293F Inducible GnTI- cells express proteins at levels comparable to parental Expi293F cells. By comparison, expression levels of T-REx 293 cells adapted into FreeStyle293 media with PEI transfection are 8-fold lower than the Expi293F Inducible GnTI- cell line in the Expi293 System.
Expression of a GPCR with different levels of induction.
Click image to enlarge
Glycan patterns for human IgG expressed in (A) Expi293F and (B) Expi293F GnTI- cell lines.
Expi293F Inducible cell line
The Expi293F Inducible cell line allows for regulated and tunable expression of proteins that may benefit from slower expression kinetics such as toxic proteins and membrane proteins. These cells were also designed to facilitate the study of cell models that require the regulation of protein expression.
Key benefits:
- >9x higher yield than T-REx 293 cells
- Tunable expression of proteins
Upon full induction in pcDNA5.0/TO vector, Expi293F Tet-inducible cells express proteins at levels comparable to parental Expi293F cells. By comparison, expression levels of T-REx 293 cells adapted in FreeStyle293 media with PEI transfection are nearly 10-fold lower than the Expi293F Inducible cell line in the Expi293 System.
Cells were transfected with an Fc-fusion protein in pcDN5.0/TO vector and then induced with different levels of tetracycline in a dose-dependent manner.
Expi293 Met(–) Protein Labeling Kit
Use our Expi293 methionine-deficient protein labeling kit that streamlines structural biology studies by x-ray crystallography and NMR using high-titer mammalian suspension cultures.
Key benefits:
- Uniform labeling of methionine residues
(A) Protein expression with methyl 13C methionine added back at various time points prior to transfection. (B) Protein expression with selenomethionine added back at various time points prior to transfection.
A comparison of theoretical spectra for peptide containing selenomethionine and the experimental spectra for a mixture of native and SeMet-labeled peptide.
Expi293 Expression System customer stories
Expi293 is cost-effective compared to other FreeStyle 293 Medium
NOTE: Cost comparison based on list price in USD and protein yields of 1 g/L with Expi293 Expression System.
| PEI w/ FreeStyle 293 Medium | Expi293 System (typically delivers 5x yield) | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of 1 L transfection | $548 | $1,531 |
| Culture volume for equivalent yield | 1 L | 200 mL |
| Total cost for same amount of protein | $607 | $324 |
Ordering information
We offer a full array of innovative products and services, including fast and flexible cell line development, media and feeds, class-setting technologies, quality custom media development, and media optimizing services.
Learn more about how we can customize your media formulation and format
Thermo Scientific Nalgene sterile single-use Erlenmeyer flasks
Sterile, single-use Thermo Scientific Nalgene flasks are made from light, break-resistant, crystal-clear PETG, so you can express with confidence. All sizes are available in vented or non-vented formats, and with plain or baffled bottoms for use on the benchtop or shaker table.
See protocol for flasks validated with Expi293 Expression system
Try the Gibco MediaSelect Tool
Easily find a media solution suited to your specific application. Use this interactive tool to select classical basal, protein expression, or viral vector media.
Your selections will allow you to choose from a catalog menu of media – or customize your own formulation to fit your experimental setup and budget. Where available, you can compare media formulations side-by-side.
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Protein Expression Publication Hub
Access a curated list of publications that highlights the advantages of our Expi protein expression systems.
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