Due to his desire to obtain all known ninja techniques, Orochimaru developed extensive research work throughout his years, performing experiments on multiple individuals and on himself to comprehend their abilities or develop new ones. Such examples include him discovering the workings of Jūgo's clan's abilities and his subsequent development of the cursed seal, the modifications done to his own body, the extensive research done to Hashirama Senju's cells as well as integrating them into Danzō Shimura, amongst many other test subjects. Most notably, Orochimaru was able to rewrite Yamato's DNA to that of Hashirama's in the attempt to recreate his considerable powers. Although Yamato survived the procedure, he was a success among many failures. Kabuto once noted, that Orochimaru could even protect the cellular structure of his experiments, preventing anyone from gaining knowledge from them. In the anime it was revealed that even from a very small sample, Orochimaru could cultivate the cells to recreate the original over time, as shown with what he did with the horn of Gyūki. The horn itself not only grew to its original size, but also produced vast amounts of chakra, identical to the latter. Although later put into use by Kabuto, the extracted chakra was potent enough to create a pseudo-jinchūriki, with power equal to that of a true jinchūriki.

 

   With his expertise in the medical field, Orochimaru was able to concoct a series of drugs with any desired effect, each designed to aid him in what ever he's doing. At one point in time, Orochimaru created genjutsu pills that were strong enough to subdue a jinchūriki and their tailed beast simultaneously. In another, Orochimaru created the Mind Awakening Pill, to help speed up the cursed seal's progression.