Benzonase® Endonuclease

DNA and RNA Removal

In your manufacturing process, we understand that it´s critical that you eliminate DNA impurities. Removing DNA and RNA can improve downstream processing later on — and the only effective biochemical method is enzymatic cleavage, using our Benzonase® endonuclease.

Benzonase® is a unique, genetically-engineered endonuclease that is only available from Merck. Produced in E.coli, this non-specific, recombinant endonuclease cleaves all kinds of DNA and RNA variants into fragments that comprise < 8 soluble base pairs. This leads to an utmost minimum of nucleic acid load, and hence to an acceptable lower viscosity of the process fluid.

Wide range of applications
Benzonase® endonuclease has an exceptionally high level of specific activity for nucleic acids without any detectable proteolytic activity. It is effective in a wide range of operating conditions and applications, including the following:

• purification of viral vaccines, viral vectors for vaccine, cell and gene therapy, and oncolytic viruses, removing DNA/RNA from proteins and other biologicals
• reduction of viscosity caused by nucleic acids
• sample preparation in electrophoresis and chromatography
• prevention of cell clumping

What’s in Benzonase® endonuclease for you?

• the capability to attack and degrade all forms of DNA and RNA
• the absence of detectable proteolytic activity
• the assurance that you’ll meet industry requirements for reliable supply and consistent high quality thanks to GMP manufacturing
• the support by our EMPROVE® bio dossier and a FDA Bulk Biological Master File (US-BBMF)

To meet the widest possible range of processing and cost requirements, Benzonase® endonuclease is available in different package sizes and grades of purity:

Product description

Benzonase® endonuclease — the smart solution for DNA removal in biopharmaceutical production has proven its value for over 30 years. Balancing efficiency and regulatory compliance by delivering reliability and high-quality manufacturing under good manufacturing practices GMP (ICH Q7). Additionally, to the stringent quality control and extensive documentation packages coming with Benzonase® endonuclease Emprove® Expert, the all new Safety Plus product elevates the high-quality level even further by adding the most recent manufacturing and analytical technologies delivering enhanced risk mitigation. The Benzonase® endonuclease Safety Plus EMPROVE® Expert is manufactured using a nonanimal origin chemically-defined fermentation medium. Release testing confirms the absence of mycoplasma and adventitious viruses for enhanced product safety. Learn more.

Gene Therapy Experience

Working with Benzonase® endonuclease for the first time – or using it in a new application?
Here are answers to the most frequently asked questions about Benzonase® endonuclease.

For more information, please contact us.