Choosing the Right Transfection Reagent for Your Cell Type

Publication Date: 2014

Abstract

ViaFect™. FuGENE® 6. FuGENE® HD. All three reagents offer broad spectrum transfection capability and low toxicity, but the question often comes up: "Which one should I choose?" Not every transfection reagent is perfect for every cell line, and transfection success can also depend on other parameters such as DNA quality, passage number of cells, and cell density.

To get a better understanding of how each reagent performs on a variety of cell lines, we performed transfection experments with ViaFect™, FuGENE® 6, FuGENE® HD and Lipofectamine® 2000 (Thermo Fisher). Each reagent was tested with a range of transfection reagent: DNA ratios and two concentrations of DNA.

All four transfection reagents work on a variety of cells. Each reagent clearly works best on certain cell lines but none were perfect for every cell line. The data presented in this article show that ViaFect™ Reagent yielded greater luciferase expression over a wider variety of cells than the other reagents tested.