Chemically Competent Cells
Chemically competent cells are calcium chloride treated to facilitate attachment of the plasmid DNA to the competent cell membrane. The competent cell is alternatively heated in a water bath, this opens the pores of the cell membrane allowing entry of the plasmid. Chemically competent cells are the best solution for general cloning and subcloning application. |
Flexible Packaging Formats
Each project has its own unique requirements, many of Invitrogen’s competent cells are offered in a variety of packaging formats.
Options available for chemically competent cells:
- One Shot® – Transformation and recovery in the same tube.
- MultiShot™ StripWell™ - 12 strips of 8 tubes in a 96 well format; do as many or as few reactions as needed
- MultiShot™ – 96-well microarray plates fit automated format
- Standard – Economical option
Highest-efficiency chemically competent cells in the One Shot® format
The OmniMAX™ 2 T1R cell is perfect for use in all cloning applications, including Gateway® technology. It offers one of the highest transformation efficiencies of any chemically competent cell type available, >5 × 109 cfu/μg pUC19, and is available in the single-use One Shot® format. The strain carries the tonA genotype for resistance to T1 and T5 phage infection, protecting your samples and minimizing the possibility of downtime in your lab due to phage contamination.
 | Figure 1. OmniMAX™ 2 T1R cells provide superior transformation efficiency. Transformation efficiency of one shot® OmniMAX™ T1R, XL10-Gold® (Stratagene), and MAX Efficiency® DH5α™ cells was determined using 10 pg pUC19 plasmid. Transformations were performed according to manufacturers' protocols. Values shown are mean ± SD of triplicate observations. |
Fastest Growing Strain
The Mach1™ T1R cell is the fastest-growing chemically competent strain currently available. Mach1™ T1R colonies are clearly visible within eight hours of plating the transformation (ampicillin selection only), enabling you to plate and pick colonies in the same day. From an overnight colony, minipreps can be performed after only four hours of growth. Mach1™ T1R cells also benefit from T1 phage resistance. These cells are available in the convenient single-use One Shot® and medium- to high-throughput MulitShot™ formats.
 | Figure 2. Mach1™ T1R cells grow faster than standard cloning strains. Mach1™ T1R, XL10-Gold® (Strategene), TOP10, XL1-Blue® (Stratagene), and DH5α™ E.coli were transformed with pUC19 and grown overnight. Each culture was then inoculated 1:50 into 50 ml of LB ampicillin in 500 ml flasks. OD600 was measured every 30 min for 6 hr. Mach1™ T1R cells reach a useful OD (e.g., for mini-prep analysis) significantly faster (4 hr) than other strains. |
