ExpiFectamine™ CHO Transfection Kit, For 1 L of culture - FAQs

View additional product information for ExpiFectamine™ CHO Transfection Kit - FAQs (A29130, A29131, A29129)

29 product FAQs found

除了ExpiFectamineCHO转染试剂,我可以使用其他转染试剂用于转染ExpiCHO-S细胞吗?

ExpiFectamine CHO 转染试剂、ExpiFectamine CHO 增强剂和 ExpiCHO 养料经过优化,可互相配合,达到最高的蛋白表达水平,而且为了方便使用,三者以一套试剂盒的形式提供。ExpiFectamine CHO 转染试剂对高密度培养的细胞有很高的转染效率,优于任何其他转染试剂。与使用聚乙烯亚胺 (PEI) 作为转染试剂相比,使用 ExpiCHO试剂盒按照说明书操作可以获得 30 倍高的表达水平,同时这两种方法中使用减少 50% 的 DNA 用量。

当使用ExpiCHO表达系统时,对于编码轻链和重链的质粒达到怎样的最佳比例时能获得最佳抗体表达,有什么建议吗?

对于大多数测试过的抗体,1:1 的比例最适合 ExpiCHO 系统。重链/轻链质粒最佳比例取决于二者共转染到同一细胞后的表达速度,有时则要取决于具体的抗体。我们建议按此比例开始,然后针对具体的分子进行必要的调整。我们建议首先将重链和轻链亚基分别克隆到 InvitrogenpcDNA3.4 TOPO 载体中,然后再优化这两种质粒的比例。我们也测试了一个质粒同时包含重链和轻链基因的方法,结果与前一种方法类似,因此最终的答案要取决于用户的经验和偏好。

真的可以只用 0.5–0.8 μg/mL 的质粒 DNA 吗?较低的DNA 用量可否适用于难以表达的蛋白?

ExpiFectamine CHO 是一种高效的转染试剂,可以使用显著较低的质粒 DNA 用量进行蛋白表达。较高浓度的 DNA 会对细胞产生更大的应激。试剂盒操作规程中规定的 ExpiFectamine CHO 试剂体积对应的质粒 DNA使用浓度为 0.5–0.8 μg/m;如果 使用比这少的DNA ,则应按比例相应减少 ExpiFectamine CHO 试剂的用量,以获得最佳效果。对大多数蛋白,建议使用 0.6–0.8 μg/mL 的浓度。对于一些易于聚集或者难以表达的蛋白,更低的 DNA 用量可能有利于蛋白的表达。

如果不能立即将稀释的 ExpiFectamine CHO 试剂加入到稀释的质粒 DNA 中,该怎么办?

如果不能立即将稀释的 ExpiFectamine CHO 试剂加入到稀释的质粒 DNA 中,我们建议您按照试剂盒操作规程将质粒DNA 稀释到将要使用的总复合物体积 (即:正常情况下稀释ExpiFectamine CHO 试剂和质粒 DNA 所需的 OptiPro 培养基总量),然后将未稀释的 ExpiFectamine CHO 试剂直接加到稀释的质粒 DNA 中。轻轻吹打 1–2 次并且/或者颠倒容器进行混匀。该方法适用于自动化操作或者小规模转染,因为上述情况下不可能或者不方便稀释后立即将 ExpiFectamine CHO 试剂加到质粒 DNA 中。

如何确保 ExpiFectamine CHO 试剂与我的质粒 DNA 达到最佳的复合物形成效果?

为了获得最佳效果,建议按以下方法进行 DNA 复合物形成:

1.用低温 Gibco OptiPro 培养基稀释质粒 DNA。
2.使用时,用低温 OptiPro 培养基稀释 ExpiFectamine CHO试剂,然后立即将其加入到稀释的质粒 DNA 中。
3.轻轻吹打 1–2 次并且/或者颠倒容器进行混匀;不要涡旋振荡或剧烈吹打。
4.复合物形成时间应在 30 秒至 5 分钟范围内。

避免延长存放稀释后的 ExpiFectamine CHO 试剂或者ExpiFectamine CHO 试剂-质粒 DNA 复合物反应体系。

转染时 ExpiCHO-S 细胞应达到多大的密度?

ExpiCHO-S 细胞应于转染前一天以 3–4 x 106 个细胞/mL 的密度传代,以便在转染当天达到约 7–10 x 106 个细胞/mL 的密度。转染前用新鲜培养基将该细胞稀释至 6 x 106 个细胞/mL 的最终密度,并轻轻摇晃混匀。剩余细胞应丢弃;不要用高密度细胞继续接种培养。

My ExpiFectamine CHO Transfection Kit (Catalog No. A29130) was accidentally frozen. Can I still use it?

ExpiFectamine reagents generally does not transfect well after being frozen, as the freezing disrupts the lipid micelles. Therefore, we do not recommend using this kit.

Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Transfection Basics Support Center.

Do you offer the ExpiFectamine CHO Transfection Enhancer, from the ExpiFectamine CHO Transfection Kit, as a standalone product?

No, we do not offer this ExpiFectamine CHO Transfection Kit component as a standalone product.

How many days should I wait before harvesting my protein with the ExpiCHO system?

Optimal time to harvest protein will depend on the specific properties of the protein being expressed and the protocol chosen. Typical harvest times to reach maximum titers for the various protocols are as follows:
- Standard Protocol: 8-10 days post-transfection
- High Titer Protocol: 10-12 days post-transfection
- Max Titer Protocol: 12-14 days post-transfection

Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Protein Expression Support Center.

I didn't add the enhancer with the ExpiCHO system. Will I still get good protein expression?

The Enhancer is designed to work with the ExpiCHO system for maximal expression. If the enhancer is not added, there will be a greater than 50% loss in expression.

Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Protein Expression Support Center.

Can I use a different transfection reagent with the Expi-CHO Expression System?

The ExpiFectamine CHO Transfection Reagent, ExpiFectamine CHO Enhancer and ExpiCHO Feed are optimized to work together to provide maximal protein expression levels and are provided as a single kit for convenience. The ExpiFectamine CHO Transfection Reagent provides high transfection efficiency of high density cultures, superior to any other transfection reagent. Expression levels greater than 30-fold higher are obtained using the ExpiCHO kit as directed versus substitution of PEI as a transfection reagent, while also using 50% less DNA.

Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Transfection Support Center.

For transfection of ExpiCHO cells, can I really use only 0.5-0.8 µg/mL plasmid DNA? Can lower DNA doses benefit hard-to-express proteins?

ExpiFectamine CHO Transfection Reagent is a highly efficient transfection reagent and as such significantly lower levels of plasmid DNA not only can, but in most instances should, be used for expression runs. Higher levels of DNA can be more stressful to the cells. The volume of ExpiFectamine CHO Reagent dictated in the kit protocol will account for using plasmid DNA in the range of 0.5-0.8µg/mL; if using less DNA than this, the amount of ExpiFectamine CHO Reagent should be reduced proportionately for best results. We recommend that you use 0.6-0.8 µg/mL for most proteins. For some proteins that are aggregate-prone or otherwise difficult to express, lower DNA doses may benefit expression.

Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Transfection Support Center.

What if I cannot add the diluted ExpiFectamine CHO Transfection Reagent to the diluted plasmid DNA immediately?

If it is not possible to immediately add diluted ExpiFectamine CHO Transfection Reagent to diluted plasmid DNA, we recommend diluting your plasmid DNA in the total complexation volume that would be used according to the kit protocol (i.e., the total volume of OptiPro Reagent that would normally be used for diluting both the ExpiFectamine CHO Reagent and the plasmid DNA) and then adding non-diluted ExpiFectamine CHO Reagent directly to the diluted plasmid DNA and then mixing by gentle pipetting 1-2 times and/or inversion. This method is useful for automation or small-scale transfections where it is impossible or undesirable to add the ExpiFectamine CHO Reagent to plasmid DNA immediately after dilution.

Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Transfection Support Center.

Can I use a different transfection reagent besides ExpiFectamineCHO Transfection Reagent for the transfection of ExpiCHO-S Cells?

The ExpiFectamine CHO Transfection Reagent, ExpiFectamine CHO Enhancer, and ExpiCHO Feed are optimized to work together to provide maximal protein expression levels and are provided as a single kit for convenience. The ExpiFectamineCHO Transfection Reagent provides high transfection efficiency of high-density cultures, superior to any other transfection reagent. Expression levels greater than 30-fold higher are obtained using the ExpiCHO kit as directed versus substitution of polythyleneimine (PEI) for the transfection reagent, while using 50% less DNA in both methods.

Are there any tips regarding the optimal proportion of light- and heavy-chain—encoding plasmids for optimal antibody expression when using the ExpiCHO Expression System?

For the majority of antibodies tested, a 1:1 ratio has been found to be ideal for the ExpiCHO system. The optimal heavy- to light-chain plasmid ratio is dependent upon the rate at which the two chains are expressed when cotransfected into the same cell, and may be antibody specific in some instances. We recommend starting with this ratio and then modifying as necessary for specific molecules. We recommend cloning the heavy- and light-chain subunits separately into the Invitrogen pcDNA3.4 TOPO vector initially, and then optimizing the ratios of the two plasmids. We have also tested single plasmids incorporating both heavy- and light-chain genes with comparable results, so in the end, the answer will come down to user experience and preference.

Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Protein Expression Support Center.

Can I really use only 0.5-0.8 µg/mL plasmid DNA with ExpiFectamine CHO reagent? Can lower DNA levels be used for hard-to-express proteins?

ExpiFectamine CHO is highly efficient for reagent transfection, enabling use of significantly lower levels of plasmid DNA for expression runs. Higher levels of DNA can be more stressful to the cells. The volume of ExpiFectamineCHO reagent specified in the kit protocol will account for using plasmid DNA in the range from 0.5 to 0.8 µg/mL; if using less DNA than this, the amount of ExpiFectamineCHO reagent should be reduced proportionately for best results. It is recommended to use 0.6-0.8 µg/mL for most proteins. For some proteins that are aggregate-prone or otherwise difficult to express, lower DNA levels may benefit expression.

Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Protein Expression Support Center.

What if I cannot add the diluted ExpiFectamine CHO reagent to the diluted plasmid DNA immediately?

If it is not possible to immediately add diluted ExpiFectamine CHO reagent to diluted plasmid DNA, we recommend diluting your plasmid DNA in the total complexation volume that would be used according to the kit protocol (i.e., the total volume of OptiPro media that would normally be used for diluting both the ExpiFectamine CHO reagent and the plasmid DNA) and then adding non-diluted ExpiFectamine CHO reagent directly to the diluted plasmid DNA. Mix by gentle pipetting 1-2 times and/or inversion. This method is useful for automation or small-scale transfections, where it is impossible or undesirable to add the ExpiFectamine CHO reagent to plasmid DNA immediately after dilution.

Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Protein Expression Support Center.

How can I ensure the best complexation of ExpiFectamine CHO reagent and my plasmid DNA?

For best results, it is recommended to perform DNA complexation in the following manner:

1. Dilute plasmid DNA into cold Gibco OptiPro medium.
2. At the time of use, dilute the ExpiFectamine CHO reagent with cold OptiPro medium and then immediately add to the diluted plasmid DNA.
3. Mix by gentle pipetting 1-2 times and/or inversion; do not vortex or pipet vigorously.
4. Complexation time should take 30 seconds - 5 minutes.

Avoid elongated hold times for the diluted ExpiFectamine CHO reagent or the ExpiFectamine CHO reagent-plasmid DNA complexation reaction.

Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Protein Expression Support Center.

What density should the ExpiCHO-S Cells achieve at the time of transfection?

ExpiCHO-S Cells should be subcultured at a density of 3-4 x 10E6 cells/mL one day prior to transfection to obtain a cell density of approximately 7-10 x 10E6 cells/mL on the day of transfection. These cells should be diluted to a final density of 6 x 10E6 cells/mL with fresh media and gently swirled to mix prior to transfection. Discard any remaining cells; do not reuse high-density cells for seeding of maintenance flasks.

I left my DNA:Expifectamine CHO complexes sitting longer than 5 minutes. Will they be okay?

The optimal complexation time is 5 minutes. We have observed a small drop in protein yield (approximately 20% reduction) if complexes sit up to 10 minutes; for 20 minutes or longer yield will be drastically reduced (>50% reduction in yield).

Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Protein Expression Support Center.

I am getting lower yield than I expected with the ExpiCHO expression system. What should I do to improve my results?

Yield can vary greatly from protein to protein. We strongly recommend expressing the rabbit antibody positive control (Cat. No. A14662) to determine if the low yield is due to a low expressing protein, a problem with the system components, or transfection and culturing conditions. If you are not achieving the expected yield with the rabbit IgG positive control, we recommend checking the following:

- Ensure that cells are >95% viable during normal passaging and at time of transfection
- Have a doubling time of approximately 17 h
- Recover cells rapidly post-thaw (within 3-4 days post thaw); if not, verify you are using the culturing guidelines provided in the manual and thaw a new vial of cells if necessary.
- We recommend gentle swirling at all handling steps for ExpiCHO-S cells (avoid vigorous swirling, shaking, and pipetting up and down). Verify that your shake speed is about 110-125 rpm for 25 mm throw shakers and about 125 for 19 mm throw shakers. Test a flask with containing water and a thermometer to determine whether the shaker is putting off excess heat; reduce the incubator temperature setting as necessary to achieve a final temperature of 37 degrees C for your cultures. All of our shake speed recommendations are provided for Corning non-baffled flasks; if you are using a different culture vessel, additional shake speed optimization may be required.

Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Protein Expression Support Center.

I notice my ExpiCHO-S cells are clumping. What should I do?

Some mild cell clumping is normal during ExpiCHO-S cell passaging and is okay as long as the cells have >95% viability. At each passage you may allow the clumps to settle to the bottom by letting the flask rest for 30 sec to 1 min, then passage the suspended cells. If the cells have a lot of clumping paired with viability < 95%, this indicates a problem either with the culture conditions or the cells themselves. We recommend verifying that the cells are: cultured according to the recommendations in the manual, below passage 20, and free of contamination. Thaw a new vial of cells as necessary.

Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Protein Expression Support Center.

What method do you recommend for quantifying the rabbit Antibody-Expressing Positive Control Vector (Cat. No. A14662)?

The formation of intact IgG molecules may be quantitated using a sandwich ELISA designed to capture and detect rabbit IgG. Besides the rabbit IgG positive control, reagents, and consumables that are included in the kit, you will also need purified rabbit IgG to be used as a standard, F(ab')2 goat anti-rabbit IgG HRP conjugate (Cat. No. A10547), Protein A-coated plates (Cat. No. 15130 for clear plates used in colorimetric detection), TMB colorimetric substrate (Cat. No. 34021), SuperBlock (TBS) Blocking Buffer (Cat. No. 37581), and PBS or TBS buffer for washes. There is an example procedure in our Protein A-coated plates manual (https://assets.thermofisher.com/TFS-Assets/LSG/manuals/MAN0011310_Pierce_ProteinA_G_AG_Coat_96Well_UG.pdf). Please note, our R&D scientists determine titer values from crude cell culture supernatants using a Pall Life Sciences FortéBio Octet instrument equipped with a protein A biosensor.

Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Protein Expression Support Center.

What viability is typical for ExpiCHO-S cells, and what method do you recommend for monitoring cell viability of ExpiCHO-S cells?

For both normal passaging and at the time of transfection for ExpiCHO-S cells, greater than 95% viability is critical for best results with the ExpiCHO expression system. We recommend for monitoring cell viability to use a trypan blue exclusion method (either manual or automated using a Vi-CELL Cell Viability Analyzer or Cedex Analyzer). Trypan blue stain is available for purchase (Cat. No. 15250061).

Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Protein Expression Support Center.

How does the protein expression yield of the ExpiCHO expression system compare to FreeStyle CHO or Expi293 expression systems?

With several test proteins in the ExpiCHO-S expression system, we see approximately 25-160 fold higher expression than FreeStyle CHO expression system and approximately 2-4 fold higher expression than Expi293 expression system. Please see Figure 1 on the ExpiCHO web page at the following link for the data: http://www.thermofisher.com/us/en/home/life-science/protein-biology/protein-expression/mammalian-protein-expression/transient-mammalian-protein-expression/expicho-expression-system.htmL?icid=npiGP-MJ-NP01-expicho-expression-system-20150908

Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Protein Expression Support Center.

Can ExpiCHO-S Cells be used to create stable clones?

Our ExpiCHO-S Cells are derived from our cGMP banked CHO-S cells (Cat. No. A1155701), thus stable CHO-S selection methods are applicable to these cells. We recommend you follow the protocol outlined in the User Bulletin for the Creation and Scale up of a stable cell ine using ExpiCHO Products (https://assets.thermofisher.com/TFS-Assets/LSG/manuals/MAN0017764_CreatScaleup_StableCellExpiCHO_UB.pdf)

Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Protein Expression Support Center.

Can I substitute a different medium for ExpiCHO Expression Medium in my Expifectamine CHO transfection?

We do not recommend substituting another medium for ExpiCHO Expression Medium because it likely cannot support the same viable density as ExpiCHO Expression Medium, and may also contain components that inhibit the transfection using ExpiFectamine CHO.

I don't have ExpiCHO-S cells. Can Expifectamine CHO transfection reagent and enhancer be used with other CHO cell lines than the ExpiCHO-S cell line?

Yes, you may be able to adapt your CHO cells into ExpiCHO medium. Long-term adaptation in ExpiCHO medium may increase productivity of your CHO cells, and should sustain high-density growth. However there is no guarantee that CHO lines other than Expi CHO-S cell line will achieve the same levels of expression as the ExpiCHO-S cells. In limited testing, we have found other CHO subclones to be less easy to transfect than ExpiCHO-S cells in large-scale suspension format.

Do I need to change the media after the ExpiFectamine CHO transfection?

No. The ExpiCHO Expression System is designed to run without media exchanges. There is no need to remove transfection complexes or to change growth medium following transfection, however there are an enhancer addition and 1-2 optional feed additions for improved yield.