Chemical Transfection
Transfections using chemical transfection reagents rely on electrostatic interactions to bind with nucleic acids and to target cell membranes. This can be achieved with compounds like calcium phosphate, polycations, and liposomes or more current technologies such as cationic lipids, polymers, dendrimers, and nanoparticles.
Using calcium phosphate for delivery is the oldest and least expensive way to introduce nucleic acids into cells. This technique works well in some easy to transfect cell lines, but cannot deliver to more resistant cells, requires large amounts of DNA, and often lacks reproducibility.