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OMICS center around functional studies of gene expression and the effects on living cells, researchers require a reagent that will minimally affect the cell's natural levels of gene expression." Traditional transfection reagents were developed as one-component formulations, consisting of either polyamines, such as polyethylenimine, or a liposomic formulation containing a cationic lipid with or without a neutral lipid mixed into it. The simple polyamines, albeit relatively inexpensive with reasonable transfection rates, cannot easily be metabolized or excreted and therefore cause substantial stress, ending in cytotoxic behavior. Conventional liposomic formulations are often observed to transfer nucleic acids effciently into the cell, but fail in many cases to release the nucleic acid from the endocytic vesicles or to effciently transport DNA into the nucleus. Multicomponent systems, such as the Roche Applied Science X-tremeGENE transfection reagents, seek to address effciency and cytotoxicity. Components that neutralize negatively charged nucleic acids are mixed with components that facilitate plasma membrane penetration. After entry, the membrane-penetrating components dissociate from the complex; other components remain complexed to the DNA and target the transfected nucleic acid into the nucleus. "Over the next 5 to 10 years, transfection technology will continue to adapt to the evolving needs of cell biologists. For those involved in proteomic work, improvement of protein yield will likely drive the development of new technologies," added Lauren Buck, associate marketing manager at Roche Applied Science. manager at SAFC. "Electroporation routinely shows higher percentage transfection effciencies for Sigma Aldrich CHOGS and CHO DHFR suspension-adapted cell lines." While commercial production of biopharmaceuticals uses consistently productive cell lines that take many weeks to develop, the production of material from transient gene expression systems can be performed early within the drug development pipeline to generate milligram to gram amounts of representative therapeutic material for early preclinical and biochemical characterization studies. The challenge is optimizing reagents and processes for the 1–10 L (or larger) scale. In the past few years, there has been a signifcant increase in the number of commercially available reagents and protocols that can be used for larger-scale transient transfection of suspension cell lines cultured under chemically defned media conditions. Tempering the use of these reagents to date is the relative high cost at this scale and the need for reagent removal from the resulting biostream. Cell culture growth conditions and harvesting times for optimal production are not yet standardized protocols. Transfection effciencies can vary signifcantly with the scale, cell line, expression vector See Transfection on page 34 AS WE SEE IT, OUR JOB IS TO SIMPLIFY YOURS. CHO Cell Bioproduction The majority of today's biotherapeutic proteins are produced in CHO cell lines adapted to suspension growth in chemically defned media formulations. Transfecting cells that are cultured under these conditions introduces new hurdles. "While CHO cells have never been thought of as being a hard-to-transfect cell line, older techniques that worked well on adherent cell lines grown in serum have been found to be less effcient on suspension-adapted cells grown in serum-free, chemically defned medium," noted Henry J. George, R&D; PRODUCTIVITY—WE UNDERSTAND. Optimizing efciency in your lab is about to get a little easier with the latest innovations from Tecan. From cutting-edge instrumentation to a better way to train, we know what it takes to help you streamline workfows and boost productivity. TouchTools™ 3.0 Enjoy simple workfow programming and an easier user experience through a next generation touchscreen interface. Infnite® 200 PRO Multimode Reader With Integrated Incubator Enhance throughput in cell-based assays with an integrated system that controls sample conditions with a built-in Gas Control Module (GCM™). Tecan Academy Get users up to speed faster and ensure consistent instrument operation with on-demand online training and certifcation. Tecan. No matter what your everyday challenges or the goals for your lab … we understand. www.tecan.com The Roche Applied Science X-tremeGENE transfection reagents contain components that neutralize negatively charged nucleic acids mixed with components that facilitate plasma membrane penetration. The Americas: +1 919 361 5200 Europe: +49 79 5194 170 Asia: +81 44 556 7311 info@tecan.com © 2013 Tecan Trading AG, Switzerland, all rights reserved. For disclaimer and trademarks please visit www.tecan.com Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News | GENengnews.com | September 1, 2013 | 33