When to Use Transfection Reagents, Viral Transduction or Electroporation

No single delivery method is ideal for all situations, but researchers may routinely employ a suboptimal approach for the sake of familiarity or to avoid any start-up costs associated with new methods. In this white paper, we will describe three methods (chemical, electroporation and viral transduction) and highlight the Mirus Bio TransIT® and VirusGEN® transfection reagents and Ingenio® EZporator® Electroporation System, which are both easy to use and cost-effective. Additionally, we will help you identify the best approach for a given experimental application and available laboratory resources.

The uses of nucleic acid delivery have expanded from recombinant gene expression to a diversity of other experimental applications, including gene knockdown with small interfering RNAs (siRNA) and genome editing with CRISPR ribonuclear protein complexes (RNPs). With these advances, these approaches have become a mainstay for delivering nucleic acid cargo into mammalian and insect cells.