The table below provides a brief summary of the different properties of a few common nucleic acids and their applications.
| Nucleic Acids | Messenger RNA (mRNA) | Small interfering RNA (siRNA) | Self amplifying mRNA (saRNA) | Guide RNA (gRNA) | Plasmid DNA (pDNA) |
| Structure | Single-stranded | Double-stranded | Single-stranded | Single-stranded | Double-stranded |
| Length | hundreds to a few thousand nucleotides (nt) | 20-25 nt | 9-12 kb, larger than mRNA | ~100 nt | hundreds to a few thousand nt |
| Shape | linear with secondary structure | linear | linear with secondary structure | linear with secondary structure | circular |
| Region | 5′ Cap, 5′ UTR, coding region, 3′ UTR, 3′ poly(A) tail | N/A | 5′ Cap, 5′ UTR, nsP1-4 (encode four non-structural proteins), subgenomic promoter coding region, 3′ UTR, 3′ poly(A) tail | Crispr RNA (crRNA), trans activating RNA (tracrRNA) | Gene of interest, restriction digestion sites (RE sites), promoter region, antibiotic resistance gene, selectable marker, origin of replication (ORI) |
| Production System (most common) | IVT | chemical synthesis | IVT | chemical synthesis | fermentation |
| Purification Process | DNase, (Proteinase), TFF, Chromatography | TFF, Chromatography | DNase, (Proteinase), TFF, Chromatography | TFF, Chromatography | Lysis, Depth filtration, TFF, Chromatography |
| Applications | Vaccines, protein replacement | Gene silencing | Vaccines, protein replacement | Gene editing | Vaccines, key component/template for multiple RNA production, gene therapy (e.g. AAV), recombinant protein production, etc. |