Protein transfection, also called transduction, is the delivery of a biologically active protein or peptide directly into living cells.1 Pro-Ject™, a cationic lipid-based reagent, from Rockford, Ill.-based Pierce Biotechnology accomplishes this noninvasively--first, by noncovalently complexing with a protein, then fusing with or being endocytosed by the cell membrane, and finally, delivering a functional protein into the cytoplasm.
Pro-Ject is fast and simple to use, with an average kit-to-cell culture time of less than four hours, typically followed by a three- to four-hour incubation in serum-free medium. Two positive transfection controls are included: ß-galactosidase, and antibody labeled with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC). Sufficient reagent is provided for 240, 48, or seven reactions with 96-well, 12-well, or 100-mm tissue-culture dishes, respectively.
Proteins transfected successfully with Pro-Ject include ß-galactosidase, various caspases, granzyme B, phycoerythrin-BSA (bovine serum albumin), and tagged antibodies. Approximately 16 cell types have been used. Transfection efficiencies with Pro-Ject exceed those of ...
