What are electrocompetent cells?

Electroporation-competent cells are engineered bacteria that have highly permeable cell membranes for efficient uptake of foreign DNA. Electroporation involves application of electrical pulses across the bacterial membrane, which creates pores and allows genetic material to permeate the membrane. We offer a variety of Invitrogen electrocompetent E. coli cells to reliably clone your target DNA with high efficiency. These competent cells come in convenient packaging options to fulfill your needs for transforming bacteria by electroporation. Standard cuvettes for electroporation can be acquired separately.

Learn about the differences between chemically competent and electrocompetent cells

On this page:

Electrocompetent E. coli: Selection guide

DH10B electrocompetent cells

DH10B strains are suitable for highest transformation efficiency. Competent cells are prepared using proprietary methods to deliver best-in-class performance. 

 ElectroMAX DH10B Cells ElectroMAX DH10B T1 Phage-Resistant Competent Cells MegaX DH10B T1R Electrocomp™ Cells
 
Product box and its contents: 5 tubes of ElectroMAX DH10B Cells, 1 vial of pUC19 DNA, and 2 bottles of SOC medium
Product box and its contents: 5 tubes of ElectroMAX DH10B T1 Phage-Resistant Cells, 1 vial of pUC19 DNA, and 2 bottles of SOC medium
Product box and its contents: 5 tubes of MegaX DH10B T1R Electrocomp Cells, 1 vial of pUC19 DNA, and 3 bottles of recovery media
Best for
  • High transformation efficiency
  • Library construction and other challenging applications
  • High transformation efficiency
  • Library construction and other challenging applications
  • T1, T5, and φ80 phage resistance
  • Highest efficiency
  • Highly demanding cloning
  • Library construction applications
  • T1, T5, and φ80 phage resistance
Type of transformationElectroporationElectroporationElectroporation
Transformation efficiency >1 x 1010 cfu/µg>1 x 1010 cfu/µg>3 x 1010 cfu/µg
Available formats

5 x 100 µL/tube

5 x 100 µL/tube

5 x 100 µL/tube

TOP10 electrocompetent cells

The TOP10 strains are genetically similar to the DH10B strain and are suitable for general cloning applications.

 TOP10 Electrocomp™ Kit One Shot TOP10 Electrocomp™ E. coliTOP10F´ Electrocomp™ Kit
 
Product box and content: 5 tubes of TOP10 Electrocomp E. coli, 1 vial of pUC19 vector, and 1 bottle of SOC medium
Product box and content: 11 tubes of One Shot TOP10 Electrocomp E. coli, 1 vial of pUC19 DNA, and 1 bottle of SOC medium
Product box and content: 10 tubes of TOP10F' Electrocomp E. coli, 1 vial of pUC19 plasmid, and 2 bottles of SOC medium
Best for
  • High transformation efficiency required (e.g., small DNA amount)
  • High transformation efficiency required (e.g., small DNA amount)
  • Single-use format
  • Carries F´ episome for ssDNA isolation
Type of transformationElectroporationElectroporationElectroporation
Transformation efficiency

>1 x 1010 cfu/µg>1 x 1010 cfu/µg>1 x 1010 cfu/µg
Available formats

Competent cells for specialty applications

 ElectroMAX DH5α-E Competent CellsElectroMAX DH12S Cells ElectroMAX Stbl4 Competent Cells
 
Photo of product box and its contents: 5 tubes of ElectroMAX DH5α-E Competent Cells, 1 vial of pUC19 DNA, and 2 bottles of SOC medium
Photo of product box and its contents: 5 tubes of ElectroMAX DH12S Cells, 1 vial of pUC19 DNA, and 2 tubes of M13KO7 Helper Phage
Photo of product box and contents: 5 tubes of ElectroMAX Stbl4 Competent Cells, 1 vial of pUC19 DNA, and 2 bottles of SOC medium
Best for
  • Generation of cDNA libraries
  • Transformations with limited input DNA
  • Production of exceptionally clean ssDNA using M13KO7 helper phage (supplied)
  • Genomic library construction
  • Cloning unstable DNA: stabilizes direct repeat and retroviral sequences
  • Cloning of methylated genomic DNA
Type of transformation

Electroporation

Electroporation

Electroporation

Transformation efficiency

>1 x 1010 cfu/µg>1 x 1010 cfu/µg>5 x 109 cfu/µg
Available formats

5 x 100 µL/tube

5 x 100 µL/tube

5 x 100 µL/tube

DH10B strains

DH10B electrocompetent cells

DH10B strains are suitable for highest transformation efficiency. Competent cells are prepared using proprietary methods to deliver best-in-class performance. 

 ElectroMAX DH10B Cells ElectroMAX DH10B T1 Phage-Resistant Competent Cells MegaX DH10B T1R Electrocomp™ Cells
 
Product box and its contents: 5 tubes of ElectroMAX DH10B Cells, 1 vial of pUC19 DNA, and 2 bottles of SOC medium
Product box and its contents: 5 tubes of ElectroMAX DH10B T1 Phage-Resistant Cells, 1 vial of pUC19 DNA, and 2 bottles of SOC medium
Product box and its contents: 5 tubes of MegaX DH10B T1R Electrocomp Cells, 1 vial of pUC19 DNA, and 3 bottles of recovery media
Best for
  • High transformation efficiency
  • Library construction and other challenging applications
  • High transformation efficiency
  • Library construction and other challenging applications
  • T1, T5, and φ80 phage resistance
  • Highest efficiency
  • Highly demanding cloning
  • Library construction applications
  • T1, T5, and φ80 phage resistance
Type of transformationElectroporationElectroporationElectroporation
Transformation efficiency >1 x 1010 cfu/µg>1 x 1010 cfu/µg>3 x 1010 cfu/µg
Available formats

5 x 100 µL/tube

5 x 100 µL/tube

5 x 100 µL/tube

TOP10 strains

TOP10 electrocompetent cells

The TOP10 strains are genetically similar to the DH10B strain and are suitable for general cloning applications.

 TOP10 Electrocomp™ Kit One Shot TOP10 Electrocomp™ E. coliTOP10F´ Electrocomp™ Kit
 
Product box and content: 5 tubes of TOP10 Electrocomp E. coli, 1 vial of pUC19 vector, and 1 bottle of SOC medium
Product box and content: 11 tubes of One Shot TOP10 Electrocomp E. coli, 1 vial of pUC19 DNA, and 1 bottle of SOC medium
Product box and content: 10 tubes of TOP10F' Electrocomp E. coli, 1 vial of pUC19 plasmid, and 2 bottles of SOC medium
Best for
  • High transformation efficiency required (e.g., small DNA amount)
  • High transformation efficiency required (e.g., small DNA amount)
  • Single-use format
  • Carries F´ episome for ssDNA isolation
Type of transformationElectroporationElectroporationElectroporation
Transformation efficiency

>1 x 1010 cfu/µg>1 x 1010 cfu/µg>1 x 1010 cfu/µg
Available formats
Specialized strains

Competent cells for specialty applications

 ElectroMAX DH5α-E Competent CellsElectroMAX DH12S Cells ElectroMAX Stbl4 Competent Cells
 
Photo of product box and its contents: 5 tubes of ElectroMAX DH5α-E Competent Cells, 1 vial of pUC19 DNA, and 2 bottles of SOC medium
Photo of product box and its contents: 5 tubes of ElectroMAX DH12S Cells, 1 vial of pUC19 DNA, and 2 tubes of M13KO7 Helper Phage
Photo of product box and contents: 5 tubes of ElectroMAX Stbl4 Competent Cells, 1 vial of pUC19 DNA, and 2 bottles of SOC medium
Best for
  • Generation of cDNA libraries
  • Transformations with limited input DNA
  • Production of exceptionally clean ssDNA using M13KO7 helper phage (supplied)
  • Genomic library construction
  • Cloning unstable DNA: stabilizes direct repeat and retroviral sequences
  • Cloning of methylated genomic DNA
Type of transformation

Electroporation

Electroporation

Electroporation

Transformation efficiency

>1 x 1010 cfu/µg>1 x 1010 cfu/µg>5 x 109 cfu/µg
Available formats

5 x 100 µL/tube

5 x 100 µL/tube

5 x 100 µL/tube

Advantages of highest efficiency electrocompetent cells

MegaX DH10B T1R Electrocompetent Cells are the highest efficiency electrocompetent cells available (Figure 1). The advantages of MegaX DH10 T1R electrocompetent cells include:

  • Highest transformation efficiency achieved from proprietary manufacturing procedures (>3 x 1010 cfu/μg of control DNA)
  • Ideal for highly demanding cloning and library construction applications
  • tonA (fhuA) genotype confers resistance to T1, T5, and φ80 lytic phage infection and safeguards clones and libraries

Figure 1. Transformation efficiency comparison of MegaX DH10B T1R Electrocompetent Cells to E. cloni® 10G Supreme Electrocompetent Cells (Lucigen) and Electro Ten-Blue Electroporation-Competent Cells (Agilent) using manufacturer’s recommended protocols. MegaX DH10B T1R consistently outperformed other electrocompetent cells.

Choose the right electroporation cuvette for your strain.

Learn more about electroporation cuvettes


Competent cells: Featured products

In addition to competent cells, we offer a broad suite of products for the cloning workflow.

Microbial
media

Explore types of bacterial growth media to use for cloning, plasmid DNA preparation, and protein expression.

Browse media

Electroporation
cuvettes

Learn more about universal-fit electroporation cuvettes for use with competent cells.

View electroporation cuvettes

TOPO PCR
cloning kits

Learn more about one-step PCR cloning that combines traditional restriction and ligation cloning.

View TOPO kits

Gibson Assembly
cloning kits

Gibson Assembly cloning kits provide highly efficient, seamless cloning, enabling the assembly of multiple DNA fragments of varying lengths into any vector.

Explore Gibson Assembly cloning

Resources

Have any questions on competent cells or transformation? Click on the resources listed below to access overviews, videos, genotype guides, and educational resources.

Review rich educational content on transformation workflow, troubleshooting, strategies, and selection guides.

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Cloning webinars

Stay up-to-date on industry trends in molecular cloning with on-demand webinars.

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Short articles and digital handbook for cloning applications

Access white papers and technical and application notes on molecular cloning.

Watch instructional videos on troubleshooting tips, how-to videos, and explainers related to molecular cloning.

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Get support for your cloning experiments

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