What is "transfection"

n. (context molecular biology English) The introduction of foreign DNA into a eukaryotic cell.

Transfection is the process of deliberately introducing naked or purified nucleic acids by non-viral methods into eukaryotic cells. It may also refer to other methods and cell types, although other terms are preferred: " transformation" is more often used to describe non-viral DNA transfer in bacteria and non-animal eukaryotic cells, including plant cells. In animal cells, transfection is the preferred term as transformation is also used to refer to progression to a cancerous state ( carcinogenesis) in these cells. Transduction is often used to describe virus-mediated gene transfer into eukaryotic cells.

The word transfection is a blend of trans- and infection. Genetic material (such as supercoiled plasmid DNA or siRNA constructs), or even proteins such as antibodies, may be transfected.

Transfection of animal cells typically involves opening transient pores or "holes" in the cell membrane to allow the uptake of material. Transfection can be carried out using calcium phosphate (i.e. tricalcium phosphate), by electroporation, by cell squeezing or by mixing a cationic lipid with the material to produce liposomes which fuse with the cell membrane and deposit their cargo inside.

Transfection can result in unexpected morphologies and abnormalities in target cells.