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Glite Dictionary
to transfect

to transfect

1 9.9
To put foreign genes into living cells for study
  • verb
  • /trænsˈfɛkt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : transfectar
  • When a vector containing HBV was transfected into an IFN alpha-sensitive cell line, the response to exogenous IFN alpha was reduced.
  • transfected cells

Examples

  • Researchers introduced a new plasmid to transfect the muscle cells, aiming to enhance their regenerative capacity.

  • Cells were transfected with miRNA precursors, or treated as specifically indicated in the figure legends.

    Academic text (2014)

  • However, they are difficult to successfully transfect.

    Academic text (2018)

  • Primary cells and stem cells are considered difficult to successfully transfect.

    Academic text (2018)

  • The results demonstrated that cultured tenocytes could be effectively transfected by means of nanosphere/plasmids.

    Academic text (2018)

  • When transfecting pre-miR-718 in Huh7 cells, suppressed cell proliferation was noted.

    Academic text (2017)

  • COS7 cells were plated on glass coverslips and transfected with plasmids encoding the proteins of interest.

    Academic text (2016)

  • HaCaT cells, an immortalized cutin cell line isolated from adult skin, were transfected with pDNA-EFG via Lipofectamine, providing seed cells with stable expression of EGF.

    Academic text (2018)

  • Grafting melittin, a 26-amino-acid peptide, to HPMA-oligolysine formed a polymer that transfected HeLa cells and PC-12 cells.

    Academic text (2018)

  • To study gene expression, scientists will transfect the cells with a specific DNA sequence and monitor their response.

Surface Forms

transfect infinitive
transfected past
transfected past participle
transfecting present participle
transfects third person singular

Morphology

transfect = trans + fect

Although the prefix 'trans-' is recognizable, the combining form 'fect' is not a standalone English word and the technical meaning 'introduce genetic material into cells' cannot be derived by an average learner from the parts.

Etymology

Transfect breaks into trans- meaning 'across' and -fect from a root meaning 'to make', and you can think of it as a mix of the familiar words transfer and infect. So, to transfect a cell is to 'move' foreign DNA 'across' into it so the cell takes the new gene.