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Genetics & Biotechnology vocabulary · Genetic Engineering and CRISPR

Transfection

Meaning in genetics & biotechnology, with examples

/trænsˈfekʃən/nounCommon term

In genetics & biotechnology, transfection means: Putting DNA or RNA into animal or human cells in culture, usually with chemical reagents or an electric pulse, so that the cells express it or are changed by it.

In Turkish: transfeksiyon

How it is used

Used daily in cell biology and CRISPR work. Researchers optimize transfection efficiency and choose between transient transfection (expression for a few days) and stable transfection (DNA integrated into the genome). The verb is 'transfect': 'we transfected the cells with the plasmid'.

Example sentences

  1. Transfection efficiency was about 80% based on GFP expression.

  2. We did the transfection with a lipid reagent 24 hours after seeding the cells.

Common collocations

  • transfection efficiency
  • transient transfection
  • stable transfection
  • transfection reagent
  • plasmidA small, circular piece of DNA found naturally in bacteria and used in the lab as a tool to carry and copy genes inside cells.
  • cell lineA population of cells that can keep dividing in culture for a long time, often indefinitely, and is used as a standard model in the lab.
  • vectorA DNA molecule, such as a plasmid or a modified virus, used to carry a gene into a cell, where it can be copied or expressed.
  • CRISPRA gene-editing technology, adapted from a bacterial defense system, in which a guide RNA leads an enzyme such as Cas9 to a chosen DNA sequence so that it can be cut and changed.

More terms: Genetic Engineering and CRISPR

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