Toward an objective evaluation of cell transfection performance

In this study, we considered the interplay between the efficiency and cytotoxicity of multicomponent cationic liposome/DNA complexes, in cell lines of different origin, as NIH 3T3, HEK 293T, N18TG2, and SK-N-SH. We show that both efficiency and cytotoxicity vary considerably depending on used transfection agents and cells lines. Such variations are largely overcome when transfection is evaluated by a parameter, R, that combines the percentages of transfected, nonviable, and nonadherent cells. These findings provide a strong validation of R as an unbiased indicator for transfection performance across cell lines and transfection agents.