Lipofectamine MessengerMAX mRNA Transfection Reagent

Superior mRNA transfection efficiency

Introducing Invitrogen's Lipofectamine MessengerMAX mRNA Transfection Reagent, the mRNA transfection reagent with up to 5X the efficiency of DNA reagents in neurons and primary cell types.

  • Amazing transfection efficiency in neurons and primary cell types
  • Faster protein expression with no risk of genomic integration
  • Up to 10X higher cleavage efficiency using mRNA CRISPRs
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Amazing transfection efficiency in neurons and primary cell types

Lipofectamine MessengerMAX mRNA Transfection Reagent delivers amazing transfection efficiency in neurons and a broad-spectrum of primary cells, enabling improved application outcomes and more biologically relevant research. That's because our novel lipid nanoparticle technology is optimized to deliver the highest amount of mRNA possible without the nuclear entry step that is required with DNA.

Lipofectamine MessengerMAX outperforms leading DNA delivery reagent and leading mRNA delivery reagent in primary cells (fresh isolated mouse cortical neurons, BJ fibroblasts, and primary keratinocytes).
Figure 1. Lipofectamine MessengerMAX outperforms leading DNA delivery reagent and leading mRNA delivery reagent in primary cells (fresh isolated mouse cortical neurons, BJ fibroblasts, and primary keratinocytes). Lipofectamine MessengerMAX and the leading mRNA delivery reagent were used to deliver GFP mRNA (500 ng/well) in a 24-well format. The leading DNA delivery reagent was used to deliver GFP DNA (500 ng/well), and GFP was analyzed 24-hours posttransfection.
Lipofectamine MessengerMAX outperforms leading DNA delivery reagent and leading mRNA delivery reagent in various stem cells (Gibco iPSCs, H9 ESCs, mESCs, hNSCs).
Figure 2. Lipofectamine MessengerMAX outperforms leading DNA delivery reagent and leading mRNA delivery reagent in various stem cells (Gibco iPSCs, H9 ESCs, mESCs, hNSCs). Lipofectamine MessengerMAX and the leading mRNA delivery reagent were used to deliver GFP mRNA (250 ng/well) in a 48-well format. The leading DNA delivery reagent was used to deliver GFP DNA (250 ng/well), and GFP was analyzed 24-hours posttransfection.
Lipofectamine MessengerMAX outperforms leading DNA delivery reagent and leading mRNA delivery reagent in various cell lines that are very difficult to transfect (bEnd.3, SH-SY5Y, SK-N-SH, A431, RAW 264.7 and HT29)
Figure 3. Lipofectamine MessengerMAX outperforms leading DNA delivery reagent and leading mRNA delivery reagent in various cell lines that are very difficult to transfect (bEnd.3, SH-SY5Y, SK-N-SH, A431, RAW 264.7 and HT29). Lipofectamine MessengerMAX and the leading mRNA delivery reagent were used to deliver GFP mRNA (500 ng/well) in a 24-well format. The leading DNA delivery reagent was used to deliver GFP DNA (500 ng/well), and GFP was analyzed 24-hours posttransfection.
Primary cells
Lipofectamine MessengerMAX outperforms leading DNA delivery reagent and leading mRNA delivery reagent in primary cells (fresh isolated mouse cortical neurons, BJ fibroblasts, and primary keratinocytes).
Figure 1. Lipofectamine MessengerMAX outperforms leading DNA delivery reagent and leading mRNA delivery reagent in primary cells (fresh isolated mouse cortical neurons, BJ fibroblasts, and primary keratinocytes). Lipofectamine MessengerMAX and the leading mRNA delivery reagent were used to deliver GFP mRNA (500 ng/well) in a 24-well format. The leading DNA delivery reagent was used to deliver GFP DNA (500 ng/well), and GFP was analyzed 24-hours posttransfection.
Stem cells
Lipofectamine MessengerMAX outperforms leading DNA delivery reagent and leading mRNA delivery reagent in various stem cells (Gibco iPSCs, H9 ESCs, mESCs, hNSCs).
Figure 2. Lipofectamine MessengerMAX outperforms leading DNA delivery reagent and leading mRNA delivery reagent in various stem cells (Gibco iPSCs, H9 ESCs, mESCs, hNSCs). Lipofectamine MessengerMAX and the leading mRNA delivery reagent were used to deliver GFP mRNA (250 ng/well) in a 48-well format. The leading DNA delivery reagent was used to deliver GFP DNA (250 ng/well), and GFP was analyzed 24-hours posttransfection.
Cancer cells
Lipofectamine MessengerMAX outperforms leading DNA delivery reagent and leading mRNA delivery reagent in various cell lines that are very difficult to transfect (bEnd.3, SH-SY5Y, SK-N-SH, A431, RAW 264.7 and HT29)
Figure 3. Lipofectamine MessengerMAX outperforms leading DNA delivery reagent and leading mRNA delivery reagent in various cell lines that are very difficult to transfect (bEnd.3, SH-SY5Y, SK-N-SH, A431, RAW 264.7 and HT29). Lipofectamine MessengerMAX and the leading mRNA delivery reagent were used to deliver GFP mRNA (500 ng/well) in a 24-well format. The leading DNA delivery reagent was used to deliver GFP DNA (500 ng/well), and GFP was analyzed 24-hours posttransfection.

Faster protein expression with no risk of genomic integration

Transfection of mRNA with Lipofectamine MessengerMAX typically results in faster protein expression with great homogeneity of expression among the transfected cells. Additionally, delivery of mRNA does not require nuclear entry (step 4), which eliminates the risk of genomic integration and transfection efficiency becomes cell cycle independent.

Image comparison of DNA vs. mRNA transfection

Figure 4. DNA vs. mRNA transfection.

Up to 10X higher cleavage efficiency using CRISPR mRNAs

Lipofectamine MessengerMAX reagent increases the likelihood of cleavage and recombination with Invitrogen GeneArt CRISPR Nuclease mRNA through highly efficient transfection, maximizing the efficiency of CRISPR-driven genetic modifications and simplifying downstream processes.

messengermax-4

Figure 5. Cleavage efficiency of various Invitrogen GeneArt CRISPR formats targeting the HPRT locus in Gibco iPS cells in a 12-well format. Invitrogen Lipofectamine 3000 reagent was used to deliver CRISPR nuclease all-in-one plasmid DNA; Lipofectamine MessengerMAX and two leading mRNA delivery reagents were used to deliver an all-RNA CRISPR format (Cas9 mRNA + IVT gRNA). Cleavage efficiency was determined using the Invitrogen GeneArt Genomic Cleavage Detection Kit 72 hours post-transfection.

Getting started is easy as 1-2-3!

Prepare DNA template

Prepare your DNA template with a T7 promoter. You may choose to clone your gene with an Invitrogen Gateway pcDNA-DEST40 Vector or amplify it with PCR and T7-containing primers.

Preparing DNA template with a T7 promoter

Generate mRNA

Transcribe your template DNA with the Invitrogen mMESSAGE mMACHINE T7 ULTRA Transcription Kit to generate mRNA for transfection.

Invitrogen mMESSAGEm MACHINE T7 ULTRA Transcription Kit

Transfect mRNA

Transfect your mRNA with our simple Lipofectamine MessengerMAX transfection protocol. Download the Lipofectamine MessengerMAX protocol

mRNA workflow
Step 1 : Prepare DNA template

Prepare DNA template

Prepare your DNA template with a T7 promoter. You may choose to clone your gene with an Invitrogen Gateway pcDNA-DEST40 Vector or amplify it with PCR and T7-containing primers.

Preparing DNA template with a T7 promoter
Step 2 : Generate mRNA

Generate mRNA

Transcribe your template DNA with the Invitrogen mMESSAGE mMACHINE T7 ULTRA Transcription Kit to generate mRNA for transfection.

Invitrogen mMESSAGEm MACHINE T7 ULTRA Transcription Kit
Step 3 : Transfect mRNA

Transfect mRNA

Transfect your mRNA with our simple Lipofectamine MessengerMAX transfection protocol. Download the Lipofectamine MessengerMAX protocol

mRNA workflow
Cells tested with Lipofectamine MessengerMAX reagent

Cells tested with Lipofectamine MessengerMAX reagent

Cell type Lipofectamine MessengerMAX transfection efficiency (%)
MDA-MB-231
A431
A549
bEnd.3
BJ fibroblast
H9 ESCs
Primary hepatocytes
Hep G2
HT-29
iPSCs
Primary keratinocytes
L929
LNCaP
hNSCs
MCF7
Neuro-2a
Primary neurons
RAW 264.7
RBL
SK-N-SH
SH-SY5Y

Transfection efficiency (%): <30%     30–50%    51–79%    >80%

Watch the videos and answer frequently asked questions about working with mRNA

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mRNA Transfection Basics

Ordering information

Recommend transcription kit

In order to generate your mRNA transcript, we recommend the following transcription kit:

To help ensure validity of transfection results, we strongly recommend the use of a positive control mRNA, available from various third party vendors, including TriLink BioTechnologies (e.g., EGFP mRNA).   

Resources

For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.