A novel method of DNA transfection by laser microbeam cell surgery

Abstract

A new technique is presented to incorporate exogeneous gene materials (DNA) into cells with a microbeam irradiation from an uv pulsed laser. A frequency-multiplied Nd:YAG laser, 355 m wavelength, 5 ns pulse duration, punches a self-healing hole of submicrometer aperture in cell membrane under selected irradiation conditions. It takes a fraction of a second for the aperture to close, long enough to allow the foreign DNA, contained in the medium, to slip into the cell. The method offers a clear advantage over existing methods: increases the success rate of DNA transfection as well as the efficiency of cell modification by orders of magnitude. © 1984 Springer-Verlag.