Researchers can transfect other types of RNA molecules as well. Messenger RNA transfection enables direct analyses of RNA function because the transfected messages can be expressed in the absence of transcription and in a promoter-independent manner. Use of this method avoids the confounding effects of promoter sequences and offers more rapid protein expression than when transfecting DNA.
RNA transfection also facilitates research involving cells that are not efficiently transfected with plasmid DNA. But introducing RNA into cells is not easy: Procedures and reagents designed for DNA transfection often yield low efficiencies when RNA is substituted. To address this hurdle, QIAGEN has produced TransMessenger™ Transfection Reagent, the first reagent specifically developed for transfection of cells with RNA. According to Michael Sturges, QIAGEN product manager, TransMessenger Transfection Reagent is a lipid-based formulation which, when used in conjunction with a specific RNA-condensing enhancer and an optimized buffer, forms a lipid-RNA complex that the ...
