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Lipofectamine or Lipofectamine 2000 is a common
transfection Transfection is the process of deliberately introducing naked or purified nucleic acids into eukaryotic cells. It may also refer to other methods and cell types, although other terms are often preferred: " transformation" is typically used to des ...
reagent In chemistry, a reagent ( ) or analytical reagent is a substance or compound added to a system to cause a chemical reaction, or test if one occurs. The terms ''reactant'' and ''reagent'' are often used interchangeably, but reactant specifies a ...
, produced and sold by
Invitrogen Invitrogen is one of several brands under the Thermo Fisher Scientific corporation. The product line includes various subbrands of biotechnology products, such as machines and consumables for polymerase chain reaction, reverse transcription, ...
, used in
molecular A molecule is a group of two or more atoms that are held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions that satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, ...
and
cellular biology Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the Anatomy, structure, Physiology, function, and behavior of cell (biology), cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life th ...
.Invitrogen (2012). "Lipofectamine 2000 Reagent."
/ref> It is used to increase the transfection efficiency of
RNA Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a polymeric molecule that is essential for most biological functions, either by performing the function itself (non-coding RNA) or by forming a template for the production of proteins (messenger RNA). RNA and deoxyrib ...
(including
mRNA In molecular biology, messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) is a single-stranded molecule of RNA that corresponds to the genetic sequence of a gene, and is read by a ribosome in the process of Protein biosynthesis, synthesizing a protein. mRNA is ...
and
siRNA Small interfering RNA (siRNA), sometimes known as short interfering RNA or silencing RNA, is a class of double-stranded non-coding RNA molecules, typically 20–24 base pairs in length, similar to microRNA (miRNA), and operating within the RN ...
) or
plasmid A plasmid is a small, extrachromosomal DNA molecule within a cell that is physically separated from chromosomal DNA and can replicate independently. They are most commonly found as small circular, double-stranded DNA molecules in bacteria and ...
DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...
into
in vitro ''In vitro'' (meaning ''in glass'', or ''in the glass'') Research, studies are performed with Cell (biology), cells or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called "test-tube experiments", these studies in ...
ceashish_parmar.19 [lipofection. Lipofectamine contains lipid subunits that can form liposome">ipofection.html" ;"title="ceashish_parmar.19 [lipofection">ceashish_parmar.19 [lipofection. Lipofectamine contains lipid subunits that can form liposomes in an aqueous environment, which entrap the transfection payload, e.g. DNA plasmids. Lipofectamine consists of a 3:1 mixture of DOSPA (2,3‐dioleoyloxy‐N‐ [2(sperminecarboxamido)ethyl]‐N,N‐dimethyl‐1‐propaniminium trifluoroacetate) and 1,2-Dioleoyl-sn-glycerophosphoethanolamine, DOPE,Yang, J., Huang, L. Time-dependent maturation of cationic liposome–DNA complex for serum resistance. Gene Ther 5, 380–387 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.gt.3300596 which complexes with negatively charged
nucleic acid Nucleic acids are large biomolecules that are crucial in all cells and viruses. They are composed of nucleotides, which are the monomer components: a pentose, 5-carbon sugar, a phosphate group and a nitrogenous base. The two main classes of nuclei ...
molecules to allow them to overcome the electrostatic repulsion of the cell membrane. Lipofectamine's cationic lipid molecules are formulated with a neutral co-lipid (helper lipid). The DNA-containing liposomes (positively charged on their surface) can fuse with the negatively charged
plasma membrane The cell membrane (also known as the plasma membrane or cytoplasmic membrane, and historically referred to as the plasmalemma) is a biological membrane that separates and protects the interior of a cell from the outside environment (the extr ...
of living cells, due to the neutral co-lipid mediating fusion of the liposome with the cell membrane, allowing nucleic acid cargo molecules to cross into the cytoplasm for replication or expression. In order for a cell to express a
transgene A transgene is a gene that has been transferred naturally, or by any of a number of genetic engineering techniques, from one organism to another. The introduction of a transgene, in a process known as transgenesis, has the potential to change the ...
, the nucleic acid must reach the nucleus of the cell to begin
transcription Transcription refers to the process of converting sounds (voice, music etc.) into letters or musical notes, or producing a copy of something in another medium, including: Genetics * Transcription (biology), the copying of DNA into RNA, often th ...
. However, the transfected genetic material may never reach the nucleus in the first place, instead being disrupted somewhere along the
delivery Delivery may refer to: Biology and medicine *Childbirth *Drug delivery *Gene delivery Business and law *Delivery (commerce), of goods, e.g.: **Pizza delivery ** Milk delivery ** Food delivery ** Online grocer *Deed ("delivery" in contract law), a ...
process. In dividing cells, the material may reach the nucleus by being trapped in the reassembling nuclear envelope following mitosis. But also in non-dividing cells, research has shown that Lipofectamine improves the efficiency of transfection, which suggests that it additionally helps the transfected genetic material penetrate the intact nuclear envelope. This method of transfection was invented by Dr. Yongliang Chu.


See also

*
Lipofection Transfection is the process of deliberately introducing naked or purified nucleic acids into eukaryotic cells. It may also refer to other methods and cell types, although other terms are often preferred: "transformation" is typically used to desc ...
*
Transfection Transfection is the process of deliberately introducing naked or purified nucleic acids into eukaryotic cells. It may also refer to other methods and cell types, although other terms are often preferred: " transformation" is typically used to des ...
*
Vectors in gene therapy Gene therapy utilizes the delivery of DNA into cells, which can be accomplished by several methods, summarized below. The two major classes of methods are those that use recombinant viruses (sometimes called biological nanoparticles or viral vecto ...
*
Cationic liposome Cationic liposomes are spherical structures that contain positively charged lipids. Cationic liposomes can vary in size between 40 nm and 500 nm, and they can either have one lipid bilayer (monolamellar) or multiple lipid bilayers (multila ...


References

{{reflist US Active US7479573B2, Yongliang Chu; Malek Masoud & Gulliat Gebeyehu, "Transfection reagents", assigned to Life Technologies Corp and Invitrogen Group Molecular biology Gene delivery