Transfection is the process of introducing nucleic acids into eukaryotic cells. Not only is it a key step in medical treatment involving gene therapy and RNA interference, but it is also a powerful tool for studying gene function and protein expression in a cell. Many commercial products for transfection have been available on the market, but none has achieved perfect (100%) transfection. For certain types of treatment, such as cancer gene knockdown with RNA interference, perfect transfection is highly desirable. We have developed a novel technology that has repeatedly achieved perfect transfections with varying cell types in a laboratory setting. The long-term goal of this project is to develop commercial products for delivering various biomolecules into mammalian cells with perfect transfection efficiency. To this end, we will pursue three specific aims: (i) optimize transfection conditions;(ii) standardize transfection reagents;and (iii) develop prototype commercial transfection kits and confirm the product quality. Upon completion of these studies, we will have developed prototype commercial kits that can achieve perfect transfection for multiple cell types with a reasonable shelf life and stability. The successful development of these products will greatly benefit biomedical research in many areas.
Public Health Relevance: We propose to develop commercial products based on a novel technology that can deliver genes and other biomolecules into cells with perfect efficiency, which can greatly benefit biomedical research.
