What is lipofectamine?

Answer 1

Lipofectamine is the commercial name for DOSPA, a polycationic synthetic lipid, mixed with phosphatidyl-ethanolamine or DOPE, a fusogenic lipid with an amine-group. This lipid mixture forms DNA-lipid complexes due to ionic interactions between the head group of the lipid, with a strong positive charge, that neutralizes the negative charge of phosphate groups of DNA. Mixture lipid-DNA results in the formation of structures that fuse and pass across the plasma membrane to deliver DNA into the cell. Lipofectamine is less toxic for cells than monocationic lipids such as lipofectin.