Transfection

Transfection is the process of deliberately introducing nucleic acids into cells. The term is used notably for non-viral methods in eukaryotic cells. It may also refer to other methods and cell types, although other terms are preferred: "transformation" is more often used to describe non-viral DNA transfer in bacteria, non-animal eukaryotic cells and plant cells - a distinctive sense of transformation refers to spontaneous genetic modifications (mutations to cancerous cells (carcinogenesis), or under stress (UV irradiation)). Transduction is often used to describe virus-mediated DNA transfer. The word transfection is a blend of trans- and infection.