Date: July 21, 1997 | ![]() |
What do Frankenstein's monster and Dolly the sheep have in common? Electricity brought them both to life. New life has been given to those performing transfection experiments through the power of electroporation. While chemical methods have long been the most frequently used means for cellular transfections, for many, electroporation is the preferred protocol. Electroporation transfection rates for some cell types are generally touted as being several orders of magnitude higher than those for chemical transformation and the experiments take minutes rather than hours. As you'll see in this profile, manufacturers of today's version of electroporators have developed machines that are safer to use than the devices of 25 years ago, user-friendly, and versatile in performance. The initial capital outlay for these devices may appear costly to some, but factoring in the savings of time and materials can make them worth the investment.
Electroporation was ...