Cloning Competent Cell Strains
Advantages:
- High transformation efficiencies
- Compatible with NEBuilder® HiFi DNA Assembly and Gibson Assembly® reactions, as well as ligation reactions. No dilution required!
- Strains also available for cloning of toxic genes
- All strains are free of animal products and are T1 phage resistant
- Outgrowth medium and control plasmid are included
- Choose from a variety of convenient formats, including single use tubes
- Bulk formats and custom packaging are available
- Take advantage of value pricing and no dry ice charges
Competent Cell Selection Guide
| Product | NEB # | Characteristics | Efficiency |
|---|---|---|---|
| NEB® 5-alpha Competent E. coli (High Efficiency) | C2987U C2987R C2987P C2987I C2987H |
|
1 - 3 x 109 cfu/μg, For C2987R: 1 - 5 x 108 cfu/μg |
| NEB® 10-beta Competent E. coli (High Efficiency) | C3019I C3019H C3019P |
|
1-3 x 109 cfu/µg For C3019P: 1 - 3 x 108 cfu/µg |
| NEB® Stable Competent E. coli (High Efficiency) | C3040I C3040H |
|
1-3 x 109 cfu/µg |
| NEB® Turbo Competent E. coli (High Efficiency) | C2984I C2984H |
|
1-3 x 109 cfu/µg |
| dam-/dcm- Competent E. coli | C2925I C2925H |
|
1-3 x 106 cfu/µg |
| NEB® 5-alpha F'Iq Competent E. coli (High Efficiency) | C2992I C2992H |
|
1-3 x 109 cfu/µg |
NEB Competent E. coli Sampler
Try all four cloning strains in our NEB Competent E. coli Sampler
To help select the best strain for your experiment, please use NEBcloner®, our Cloning Competent Cell Selection Chart.
Competent Cell Formats
| Formats | NEB # | Single-use | 200 µl tubes | 96-well plate | Electrocompetent | Subcloning | Outgrowth Medium & Control Plasmid Included |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NEB 5-alpha | C2987 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| NEB 10-beta | C3019 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| NEB Stable | C3040 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| NEB Turbo | C2984 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| dam-/dcm- | C2925 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| NEB 5-alpha F'Iq | C2992 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Choose Type:
FAQs for Cloning Competent Cell Strains
- Can I store competent cells at -20°C instead of -80°C?
- Does New England Biolabs offer a methyltransferase free strain of Competent E.coli?
- Does New England Biolabs offer strains of Competent E.coli suited for protein expression?
- What are the advantages of New England Biolabs' competent cells?
- What does the growth curve of NEB Turbo cells look like compared to DH5α?
- What volume of DNA can be added into competent cells?
- Which kind of transformation tubes should be used?
- Why did Synthetic Biologist Chris Voigt of MIT choose NEB 10-beta for DNA assembly and cloning?
- What formats are competent cells available in?
- Which strain of Competent E.coli should I use for general cloning?
Protocols for Cloning Competent Cell Strains
- 5 Minute Transformation Protocol (C2984)
- 5 Minute Transformation Protocol (C2987H/C2987I)
- 5 Minute Transformation Protocol (C2988)
- 5 Minute Transformation Protocol (C2992)
- 5 Minute Transformation Protocol using NEB 10-beta Competent E. coli (C3019H/C3019I)
- Electroporation Protocol (C2986)
- Electroporation Protocol (C2989)
- Electroporation Protocol (C3020)
- High Efficiency Transformation Protocol (C2984)
- High Efficiency Transformation Protocol (C2987H/C2987I)
- High Efficiency Transformation Protocol (C2992)
- High Efficiency Transformation Protocol using NEB 10-beta Competent E. coli (High Efficiency) (C3019H/C3019I)
- Subcloning Competent E.coli Transformation Protocol (C2988)
- Transformation Protocol (C2925)
- High Efficiency Transformation Protocol for 96-well format (C2987P)
- 5 Minute Transformation Protocol for NEB® Stable Competent E. coli (C3040H/C3040I)
- High Efficiency Transformation Protocol (C3040H)
- Protocol for cloning DNA containing repeat elements (C3040)
- High Efficiency Transformation Protocol (C3040I)
- 14 Minute Transformation Protocol (NEB #C2987H/C2987I)
- High Efficiency Transformation Protocol for 384-well format (C2987R)
- High Efficiency Transformation Protocol for 96-tube format (C2987U)
- Competent Cell Brochure
- Competent Cell Product Comparison
- Competent Cell Selection Guide
- Troubleshooting Transformation Reactions
- Additional E. coli Strain Genotypes
- Competent E. coli Genome Sequences Tool
- Electroporation Tips
- Genetic Markers
- Making Unmethylated (Dam- Dcm-) DNA
- McrA, McrBC and EcoKI Strain Phenotypes
- Restriction of Foreign DNA by E. coli K-12
Tools & Resources
Brochures
Selection Tools
Troubleshooting Guides
Usage Guidelines
Advantages of NEB Competent Cells
- Free of animal products
- T1 phage resistance (fhuA2)
- Media and control plasmid included with most strains
- A variety of convenient formats, including single use transformation tubes and, on request, 96 well plates
- Bulk sales capabilities with custom packaging
Advantages of NEB Cloning Strains
- High transformation efficiencies
- EndA deficient for high quality plasmid preparation
- T1 phage resistant
- RecA deficient for reduced recombination of cloned DNA
- Free of animal products
- Suitable for blue/white screening
- Available as single-use tubes or multiple use aliquots
- Outgrowth media and control plasmid included
- Bulk sales capabilities with custom packaging formats
High Transformation Efficiencies with NEB Competent E. coli
Transformation efficiencies were compared using manufacturers’ recommended protocols. Values shown are the average of triplicate experiments.
Legal Information
Products and content are covered by one or more patents, trademarks and/or copyrights owned or controlled by New England Biolabs, Inc (NEB). The use of trademark symbols does not necessarily indicate that the name is trademarked in the country where it is being read; it indicates where the content was originally developed. The use of this product may require the buyer to obtain additional third-party intellectual property rights for certain applications. For more information, please email busdev@neb.com.
This product is intended for research purposes only. This product is not intended to be used for therapeutic or diagnostic purposes in humans or animals.
