DreamFect Stem
Can DreamFect Stem also transfect other cells or only stem cells ?
Yes, of course DF stem can transfect other cells but it is optimized for stem cell.
Can you please outline the specific differences between DreamFect, DreamFect Gold and DreamFect Stem ?
DreamFect (DF) is the first generation of our transfection reagent; it is recommended for cell lines. DreamFect Gold (DG) is the second generation; it is an improved version of DreamFect. Basically, DF and DG should have similar transfection efficiency (ie, number of cells transfected) but DG will lead to higher transgene expression (ie, meaning higher level of gene expressed). DreamFect Stem has been developed specifically for pluripotent stem cells and thus is optimized for those cells (higher efficiency with lower toxicity) whereas DF and DG are more generic for cell lines.
Can DreamFect Stem be used for Mouse Nervous stem cell ?
Even if it’s true that DreamFect Stem was designed for any stem cells, we always recommend NeuroMag transfection reagent for Neural Stem Cells. Actually NeuroMag, initially designed for primary hippocampal and cortical neurons has shown a real good efficiency in every “neural cell types”. Numerous papers have shown its efficiency in primary hippocampal and cortical neurons from any origin as well as cerebellar granules, motor neurons, striatal neurons, astrocytes and even some cell lines (…). Moreover, we and others have demonstrated that NeuroMag was highly efficient for transfecting Neural Stem Cells without differentiating them; after transfection, toxicity is really low and cells keep their functional characteristics: Pickard M., Biomaterials. 2010; 32(9):2274-84 and Sapet C., Biotechniques. 2011; 50(3):187-9. That’s why we do recommend NeuroMag for this kind of cells. For Neural Stem Cells, DNA quantity should be lowered and ratio to use should be 1:1.
Cells had a tendency to form clumps after addition the mixture of plasmid and DreamFect Stem into cells; toxicity was also observed.
Low efficiency, clump formation and toxicity shouldn’t occur with Dreamfect Stem. This is mainly observed when the transfection conditions are not optimized. Actually it may be necessary to change both DNA amount and volume of reagent: first vary DNA amount with a fixed ratio of DreamFect Stem, then vary the ratio of DreamFect Stem with a fixed amount of DNA.
Do I need to change medium the day after transfection? Or can I just leave it on for the next days until evaluation of the experiment ?
You must not change the medium the day after transfection, but we noticed that a medium change at least 4h after transfection increases the rate of transfected cells and the cell survival.