We’ve consolidated our extensive library of cell transfection protocols and citations into a single, easy-to-use tool. Narrow the results by cell type, cell line, payload, transfection product, or type of document. You’ll see a list of protocols and their efficiencies.

screen view of results from human breast cell transfection protocols search

What types of cell transfection protocols can I find in the tool?

The transfection protocols and citations tool contains resources specific to a multitude of cell lines and types, including HeLa cells, CHO cells, Jurkat cells, and many others. Protocols and citations have also been categorized according to desired product (e.g., Lipofectamine or Neon electroporation system) and payload, allowing you to easily narrow your search to the cell culture transfection protocol most applicable to your experiment.

Cell line-specific transfection protocols

Find protocols that have been optimized for efficiency, viability, and reproducibility in your cell line. Cell lines available in this tool include, but are not limited to, the following.

Cell typeSource
A549 Human lung carcinoma
ACHN Human renal cancer
C6 Rat glioma
Caco-2 Human colorectal adenocarcinoma
CHO-K1 Hamster ovary
COS-7 Monkey kidney fibroblast
D3 Mouse embryonic stem cells
HCT-116 Human colon carcinoma
HEK 293 Human embryonic kidney
HeLa Human cervical carcinoma
HepG2 Human liver carcinoma
HL60 Human lymphoblast
HT29 Human colon adenocarcinoma
HT-1080 Human fibrosarcoma
HUVEC Human umbilical vein cord
IMR-90 Human embryonic lung
Jurkat Human T-cell leukemia
K-562 Human myelogenous leukemia
LNCap Human prostate cancer
MCF-7 Human breast cancer
MDA-MB-231 Human breast adenocarcinoma
MDA-MB-435 Human breast adenocarcinoma
Molt-4 Human T lymphoblast
NCI-H460 Human large cell lung cancer
NHFF Human diploid somatic fibroblast
NIH-3T3 Mouse embryonic fibroblast
NTera2 Human embryonic carcinoma stem cell
PC-3 Human prostate adenocarcinoma
PC12 Rat neuronal
SK-BR3 Human breast carcinoma
SK-MEL-28 Human malignant melanoma
SK-OV-3 Human ovarian adenocarcinoma
THP-1 Human monocytic leukemia

Product-specific transfection protocols

Transfection products from Thermo Fisher Scientific are designed for highly efficient and reproducible results. Explore protocols designed for use with specific products, including:

AAV-MAX transfection kit Lipofectamine CRISPRMAX reagent
Expi293 Expression System Lipofectamine LTX reagent
ExpiCHO Expression System Lipofectamine MessengerMAX reagent
ExpiSF Expression System Lipofectamine RNAiMAX reagent
FreeStyle MAX Reagent Lipofectamine Stem reagent
Invivofectamine 3.0 reagent LV-MAX transfection kit
Lipofectamine 2000 reagent Neon Transfection System
Lipofectamine 3000 reagent Xenon Electroporation System

RNAi transfection protocols

Thermo Fisher Scientific offers a complete collection of transfection reagents with exceptional performance for the delivery of DNA, siRNA, Invitrogen Stealth RNAi, and Invitrogen BLOCK-iT RNAi vectors, in traditional or difficult-to-transfect cell lines. Refer to the Seven Steps to RNAi Success when planning RNAi experiments.

Use the Transfection Protocols & Citations tool to find the RNAi and siRNA protocols that you need, and explore Lipofectamine RNAiMAX reagent for advanced and efficient delivery of siRNA (see general transfection protocol using Lipofectamine RNAiMAX reagent).

Additional information on RNAi and siRNA transfection protocols

Stealth RNAi and siRNA transfection concentrations

The transfection concentration of a Stealth RNAi or siRNA duplex is determined by dividing the number of moles of siRNA used by the final volume of the transfection (i.e. starting medium volume + transfection mixture volume). Using a 24-well plate, we typically transfect 0.5-5 pmol of siRNA in a 100 µL transfection mix to 500 µL of medium in each well to give a 1 to 10 nM final concentration. If transfecting in triplicate, make 400 µL of 5x transfection mix by adding 0.1–1 µL of the 20 µM stock to 399 µL of Gibco Opti-MEM. Then add 100 µL of this transfection mix to each of your wells. (20 µM Stealth RNAi or siRNA = 20 pmol/µL)

Co-transfecting a vector and siRNA

When co-transfecting plasmids and siRNA, use the appropriate plasmid transfection protocol. The siRNA component usually adds negligible nucleic acid mass and can be ignored. Find appropriate transfection protocols for plasmid vector transfection using the Transfection Protocols & Citations tool.

Neon Electroporation System transfection protocols

The Neon Transfection System offers an innovative electroporation method, helping you achieve high transfection efficiency in difficult-to-transfect cells, including immune, primary, and stem cells.

Using the Transfection Protocols & Citations tool, find Neon Electroporation System-specific protocols. These protocols include general information about the cell line or primary cell, electroporation parameters used, transfection efficiency and survival rate achieved, and brightfield and fluorescence microscopy images of the cells following electroporation. 

For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.

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