Effect of Cell Passage Time on the Electrotransfection Efficiency

Abstract

Gene electrotransfer is an effective and promising gene delivery technique in clinical applications, such as DNA vaccination and gene therapy. An improved gene therapy protocol depends on the the proper establishment of the gene transfer method. Electroporation has been widely employed in in vitro and in vivo protocols, and increaing its transfection efficiency has been the field of research. In order to achieve the the maximal introduction of plasmid DNA into cells with optimal cell viability, electro transfection conditions for every single cell type should be determined individually. In this work, the effect of cell passage time on the electrotransfection efficiency of CHO cells is determined. The selected cell passage times of 24 and 48 h prior to the electroporation are considered for the analysis. It is shown that electrotransfection efficiency with all plasmid concentrations significantly differs when comparing 24 and 48 h cell passage times. However, only slight change in the cell viability is observed at 24 and 48 h of cell passage times.