Neon® Transfection System

The company that brought you modern transfection reagents introduces the Neon® Transfection System.
  • Efficiency - Up to 90% in many cell types, including difficult-to-transfect cells, primary and stem cells
  • Flexibility - easily transfect from 2 x 104 cells to 6 x 106 cells per reaction
  • Simplicity - single reagent kit for all cell types
  • Versatility - open system allows electroporation parameters to be optimized freely
  • Easy to use protocol

High transfection efficiency and high cell viability in a broad range of cell lines



Figure 1. High transfection efficiency of Jurkat cells with Neon® Tranfection System.
Intracelluar uptake of reporter vector encoded with EGFP at 24 hr following transfection of Jurkat cells with Neon® Transfection System. B is the corresponding fluorescence image of A.

Examples of cell lines successfully transfected with the Neon® Transfection System

Cell line Cell type Transfection efficiency (%)* Viable cells (%)
MEF Primary
 Embryonic fibroblast
 80
 75
293A
 Kidney
 90 90
3T3-L1 Mouse adipose
 85
 80
A549
 Lung
 75
 92
Macrophages
 Human (peritoneal)
 60
 60
MCF-7
 Breast
 70
 80
HeLa
 Cervical carcinoma
 90 87
HL-60
 Blood 55
 70
PBMC
 Blood
 23
 95
Primary rat cortical cells
 Brain, cortical
 42
 98.5
Primary rat hippocampal cells Brain, hippocampal
 37
 77
Raw 264.7
 Blood
 74
 80
 
* Transfection efficiency is calculated from total population of live and dead cells.
Protocols and reference information for a large number of cell lines are available in Neon® cell database

Neon® Pipette Tip design vs. standard electroporation cuvette

Unlike standard cuvette-based electroporation chambers, the Neon® system uses a patented biologically compatible pipette tip chamber that generates a more uniform electric field. This design allows a better maintenance of physiological conditions resulting in very high cell survival compared to conventional electroporation*.

* Kim JA, Cho K, Shin MS, et al. (2008) A novel electroporation method using a capillary and wire-type electrode. Biosens Bioelectron 23(9):1353-1360.


Figure 2. Standard electroporation cuvette compared to Neon® pipette tip.
The design of the electrode in pipette has been shown to produce a more uniform electric field. The result is less toxicity to the cells and higher transfection efficiencies.

Plug-n-play out of the box

The transfection processes couldn’t be simpler. Take up the cells and plasmid mix into the Neon® Pipette tip, plug into the pipette holder and press start. Then just pipette the transfected cells into your culture vessel. No more filling and pulling sample from the cuvette and capping and de-capping. The Neon® system uses a simple 3-step transfection procedure. The transfection occurs in the Neon® Pipette tip.


  1. Load mix of harvested cells and molecules to be delivered (e.g., DNA, RNA, protein) into the Neon™ Pipette tip.
  2. Plug the pipette into position in the Neon® transfection device; select your protocol, and press Start.
  3. Unplug the pipette and transfer your transfected cells into a tissue culture vessel.

Simplified transfection kit for all cell types

Avoid the hassle of determining which proprietary buffer kit will work with your favorite cell type. We have simplified your work with just one transfection kit, that is compatible with all cell types. Start your transfection with our optimized protocols for popular cell types, or follow our standard simple optimization procedure for all new cell types.

Transfection couldn’t be simpler, into any cell type.
Ordering Information
Go to the Neon® Transfection System ordering page to select products, consumables, or replacement components.
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