Transfecting

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Introducing foreign genetic material into cells to enable expression of new traits or proteins; transferring DNA or RNA into host cells for research or therapeutic purposes; facilitating the uptake and incorporation of nucleic acids to alter cellular functions
2. The process of delivering exogenous nucleic acids into living cells to modify their genetic content; inserting foreign DNA or RNA to study gene function or produce proteins; enabling cells to take up and express new genetic information for experimental or clinical use
3. Inserting genetic material such as DNA or RNA into cells to achieve gene expression or silencing; the method of transferring molecules to change cellular behavior; promoting genetic exchange that allows research into cell biology or development of treatments

Etymology: "Transfect" blends "trans-", meaning across, with "infect", and the second half records where the idea came from. Viruses were already known to slip their genetic material into a cell and get it expressed, and researchers wanted the same result without a virus. Methods such as calcium phosphate precipitation or brief electrical pulses move foreign DNA or RNA across the cell membrane in the way an infection would, but without any infection, which is why the borrowed term fits so well.

Synonyms: transforming, inserting, introducing