Our Portals

The GRCF DNA Services group offers the synthesis of oligonucleotides through Horizon Discovery, IDT, MilliporeSigma and ThermoFisher. Ordering through the Johns Hopkins University portal lets you take advantage of lower pricing than you will get through SAP. Most companies provide free shipping. Oligos can be delivered to your lab by the Core Store for free or picked up in our office in Blalock 1004.

A few things to know

Specialized quotes from must be handled outside of the portal through contact with the local sales representative and the GRCF. Please email us with the details of what you would like to order.

IDT ACCOUNt Creation

You can create an account on IDT’s website instantly, but you must use an username and password that is specific to the portal, even if you have been ordering from their standard web site. If you don’t, you will not receive the discounted pricing below, and you will be charged shipping. When placing your first order, you will see incorrect pricing and shipping charges, but your bill will be correct.  NGS items cannot be ordered through the portal, but can be ordered via quotes.

MilliporeSigma Account creation

To set up an account with MilliporeSigma, please  email us with the information listed below. Account set up takes about 24 hours.

  • Your name & email address
  • Your phone number
  • Your PI’s name & email address
  • Your JHU building and room number (for deliveries)


Horizon Discovery Account Creation

Horizon Discovery accounts can be created instantly. If you already have a direct account, you may use that account on the portal and do not need to set up a new account.

ThermoFisher Account Creation

You must link a ThermoFisher.com account to our portal to place orders.  To create a new account or link an existing account, download and follow these instructions.

Pricing:

The products listed below are a small sample of the products available from each vendor. Please explore the portals to see all of the products available, along with pricing.

Horizon Discovery’s pricing is based on the exact design of the oligo ordered and does not follow the per base model. Generally speaking they are competitive in the highly modified oligo arena, especially for RNA oligos and RNA:DNA hybrid oligos. 

IDT

$ 0 .18
per base

25 nmole scale; 3.0 OD min. yield

15-60 bases, no purification

Order by 1pm for free next day shipping*

  • 100 nmole: $0.26/base; 10-90 bases, 6.0 OD min. yield
  • 250 nmole: $0.72/base; 5-100 bases; 15.0 OD min. yield
  • 1 umol: $1.19/base; 5-100 bases; 45.0 OD min. yield
  • Larger scales available; Same day shipping, purification and/or modifications add cost.
  • Free shipping on all products; orders placed before 1 PM ship the next day.*
  • NGS items must be ordered through a custom quote. Contact us for details. For pricing on other IDT products, please see the website.
  • DNA oligos are short, single- and double-stranded synthetic DNA sequences that can be used in nearly any molecular biology application. Using the Oligo Entry ordering tool, you can design your oligos to contain any DNA sequence you require and select from hundreds of modifications to suit your specific research needs.
  • Every DNA oligo you receive will be deprotected and desalted to remove small molecule impurities. In addition, your oligos will be quality controlled via proprietary ESI-mass spectrometry methods *, and quantified twice by UV spectrophotometry to provide accurate yield measurements.

MilliporeSigma

$ 0 .15
per base

25 nm scale; 3.0 OD min. yield

2-60 bases, no purification

Free same day shipping on orders placed before 1pm*

  • 50 nmole: $0.22/base; 2-120 bases; 5.0 OD min. yield
  • 200 nmole: $0.53/base; 2-120 bases; 12.0 OD min. yield
  • 1 umole: $0.95/base; 2-120 bases; 40 OD min. yield
  • Larger scales available; purification and/or modifications add cost.
  • Free shipping on all products; Orders placed before 1 PM ship same day for the same price with no shipping charges.*
  • si/shRNA products may also be ordered through this site.
  • DNA oligo products including primers, qPCR probes, high-throughput DNA in plates and next-generation sequencing (NGS) adapters available in multiple formats and manufactured under ISO 9001 and ISO 13485 quality systems for research or commercial applications.
  • Every DNA product is quality checked using MALDI-TOF and Electrospray Ionization (ESI) Mass Spec and OD by UV spectroscopy. Shipments include a quality assurance document for your records. Choose from our comprehensive portfolio of predesigned and custom products available in multiple formats.

ThermoFisher Scientific

$ 0 .14
per base

25 nm scale; 2.0 OD min. yield

2-100 bases, no purification

Order by 5pm for free next day shipping*

  • 50 nmole: $.20/base; 20-100 bases, 4 OD min. yield
  • 200 nmole: $0.70/base; 20-100 bases, 16 OD min. yield
  • 1 umole: $2.00/base, 50 OD min. yield
  • Larger scales available; Same day shipping, purification and/or modifications add cost.*
  • Free shipping on all products.
  • Taqman assays, CRISPR gRNAs and other custom products may also be ordered through this site.
  • Our oligos are available in a range of synthesis scales, purification options, and modifications. Many different applications demand different scale or purity to work well when it comes to custom DNA oligo synthesis.
  • Our custom DNA oligos are synthesized on a highly automated, computer-controlled system using standard cyano-ethyl phosphoramidite chemistry. Coupling efficiencies are monitored throughout synthesis of each oligonucleotide by trityl analysis, ensuring the quality of the process, not just the end product. Post-synthesis QC, mass spectrometry for short oligos and capillary electrophoresis (CE) for long oligos, ensure quality.

*Maximum oligo length, scale, purification type and modification type restrictions apply to same day/next day shipping standards. Please see the details on your favorite company’s portal before planning an experiment. Oligos will be delivered to your lab within 24 hours of receipt in Blalock; Pick up arrangements may be made by calling 410-955-2836 or emailing us.

Location

Johns Hopkins East Baltimore Medical Campus

600 N. Wolfe Street

Blalock Building, Room 1004

Baltimore, MD 21287 USA

Hours

Monday – Friday:

7:00 am to 4:30 pm

After-hours pickup is available from the lockers near the Blalock elevators. Please contact us to make arrangements.

Contact

Phone

410-955-2836


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Frequently asked questions

How do I set up a GRCF portal account with my favorite company? Is each company a different login?
  • For Horizon Discovery, if you have a current account, you do not need to create a new account. Simply starting on  our portal login page will associate your account with our portal. If you need to create an account, you can do so on the  registration pageOrders created on the Dharmacon portal create a quote which is emailed to the GRCF. The GRCF will place the orders by the end of the day. You will receive an email when the order has been placed.


  • For IDT, you must create a  portal specific account, but account set-up is instantaneous. Simply go to our portal and create a new account. Make sure you do not click anywhere else on the page prior to creating the account, or the web-site will lose the association with our portal. Once you have set up the account, you may place your order. When placing your first order on a newly created account, you will see incorrect pricing and shipping charges, but your bill will be correct.


  • For MilliporeSigma, you need to email us the following information:
  • Your name
  • Your email address
  • Your phone number
  • Your building and room number (for CoreStore deliveries)
  • Your PI’s name & email address
  • If you already have set up a GRCF account with MilliporeSigma, you may order using  this link.


  • Qiagen does not require an account. Shopping carts are emailed to the GRCF ( customorders@jhmi.edu) for ordering.


  • For ThermoFisher you must link your ThermoFisher account to the Dashboard.  Please download and follow these instructions.


How long does it take to activate my account?

Horizon Discovery and IDT are instantaneous. If you already have a Horizon Discovery/Dharmacon direct account, you may simply login on our  portal page and your orders will be associated with the portal. If you already have a direct IDT account, you MUST create a new account by clicking “Set up new account” on our  portal page (without clicking anywhere else on the page.)

For MilliporeSigma, you must create an account and wait for an email indicating that the account is active. This may take up to two business days.

For ThermoFisher, you must link a ThermoFisher.com account to our portal. This process may take 24 hours.

Qiagen does not require an account. Orders are emailed to us and placed by the GRCF staff.

I already have an account set up with this company on their standard web-site. May I use that account?

For IDT and MilliporeSigma, you must create an account specific to the GRCF portal in order to take advantage of our pricing. Existing ThermoFisher accounts may be used, once they are linked to the portal. Prior Horizon Discovery (Dharmacon) accounts work, as long as you start on our  portal page.

Do I need a purchase order to place an order? Can I pay with an IO number?

On any of these sites, you will pay with your budget number. You do not need a credit card or a PO number from SAP. KKI customers should enter the last name of the PI on their grant or a KKI PO number. All customers (KKI and JHU) will be billed through iLab. JHU customers should check to make sure their budget numbers are active in iLab. Non-sponsored budget numbers must be added to iLab manually by following  these instructions.

When will I receive my items?

Standard oligo orders placed before noon from MilliporeSigma arrive the next business day. Standard oligo orders placed with IDT before 2 PM or ThermoFisher before 5 PM, will arrive in our office two business days after they are placed. Other items vary depending on the time it takes the manufacturer to ship. All items are available in Blalock 1004 the day they are received and will go out for delivery with the CoreStore the next morning.

Will you leave the order in my lab if no one is there?

No. Due to the sensitive nature of some of the items ordered through our portals, someone must be present in your lab for your order to be delivered.

May I pick up my order, even if I indicated I wanted delivery when I placed the order?

Yes. On a typical day, we receive the orders by 11:30 AM. Orders are available in Blalock 1004 from the time they arrive until we close at 4:30 PM. You may stop by and pick them up anytime during those orders. If you call ahead, please be prepared to tell us the order number and then name of the person placing the order. Orders are brought to the CoreStore early the following morning and set out for delivery.

If you know that you would like to pick up your order at the time you place your order, you may replace your building and room number with the words “Pick up” and we will contact you when the order arrives.  Pickup orders are placed in one of our lockers near the Blalock elevators and are available 24/7.

I order for more than one lab. How do I change where an order is being delivered?

You should create a separate ordering account for each lab to make sure that your orders are delivered to the correct location.

Why do I see shipping charges when placing an order from IDT?

This usually means that you have logged into the portal using a username and password that were set up for the SAP punchout or the normal IDT web-site. Using the wrong login will take you to the direct website without any notification. You will only receive free shipping if you use a username and password set up specifically on our portal. You will know you are on the correct website if you see a banner that says “You are using the DNA Analysis Facility Portal” on every page. Also, when you begin the checkout process, the billing and shipping information should be prepopulated with the GRCF address and PO. Click past this page and you will come to a page that asks for your budget number and building and room number. 

How do I order NGS products from IDT?

All NGS products, including o-pools, must be ordered via custom quote. Please send your quote request to Roxann Ashworth, and she will work with IDT to create your quote and place your order. This will allow you to receive a small discount and free shipping.