Transfection reagents are used to introduce DNA or RNA into eukaryotic cells. Transfection reagents help overcome the barrier caused by the negative charges of both the nucleic acids and the cellular membrane by giving an overall positive charge to the DNA or RNA through the formation of transfection complexes. This interaction is necessary to trigger cellular uptake of the complexes and subsequent release from vesicles into the cytoplasm. Transfection reagents are often cationic lipids or polymers and include calcium phosphate and diethylaminoethyl (DEAE)-dextran. Visit the supplier pages for more product information.
In 1987, Felgner and others first described the application of “Lipofection,” which used a synthetic reagent abbreviated as DOTMA to effectively deliver DNA into tissue culture cells. DOTMA comprised of cationic lipids that, once associated with negatively charged DNA, formed stable liposomal complexes. This gave rise to the now widely used method of synthetic liposomal-based transfection. Now, various commercial reagents have been thoroughly developed with features such as low toxicity, effectiveness on hard-to-transfect cells, as well as high reproducibility.