Transduction of murine embryonic stem cells by magnetic nanoparticle-assisted lentiviral gene transfer.

Genetic modification of embryonic stem (ES) cells is a valuable technique when combined with cell replacement strategies. Obtaining stable transgene expression and low-cytotoxicity lentiviral transduction of ES cells is advantageous. It has been shown that the efficiency of transfection and transduction approaches can be increased by magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs). Here, we present a protocol for MNP-assisted lentiviral transduction of adherent mouse ES cells. The application of MNPs increased transduction efficiency and provided the opportunity of cell positioning by a magnetic field.