title: High-throughput transfection of differentiated primary neurons from rat forebrain.
abstract: Primary neurons in culture are considered to be a highly relevant model in the study of neuronal development and activity. They can be cultivated and differentiated in vitro but are difficult to transfect using conventional methods. To address this problem, a capillary electroporation system called Cellaxess Elektra was developed for efficient and reproducible transfection of primary cortical and hippocampal neurons without significant impact on cell morphology and viability. The cells are transfected in any stage of differentiation and development, directly in cell culture plates. Genetic material is delivered in situ to as many as 384 samples at a time, which enables both high-throughput and high-quality screening for hard-to-transfect primary cells, meaning that gene function can be studied on a genome-wide scale in cells previously inaccessible to genetic manipulation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Automated Biotechnology, Merck & Co., Inc., North Wales, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Shane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Marine
authors.forename: Jamie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Freeman
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Riccio
authors.forename: Marie-Louise
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Axenborg
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pihl
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ketteler
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aspengren
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D018274:Electroporation / Q000379:methods; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology*; D061251:Primary Cell Culture; D016548:Prosencephalon / Q000166:cytology*; D051381:Rats; D014162:Transfection / Q000379:methods*