Lonza
Nucleofector® technology
Efficient and gentle electroporation for challenging cells
Transfection of DNA, RNA, RNPs and proteins is essential in modern cell and gene research. Traditional electroporation can work well for robust cell lines, but is often too harsh and inefficient for primary cells, stem cells and neurons, leading to low viability and limited success.
Nucleofector® Technology from Lonza is an advanced electroporation method that combines optimized electrical parameters with cell type-specific solutions. This enables direct delivery to the nucleus and cytoplasm, even in non-dividing cells, achieving high transfection efficiency while preserving cell health.
With a Nucleofector® system you benefit from:
- High and reproducible transfection efficiency in hard-to-transfect primary cells, stem cells, neurons and sensitive cell lines
- Compatibility with a broad range of substrates (DNA, mRNA, RNPs, siRNA, proteins and more)
- A flexible platform with dedicated systems, kits and hundreds of cell type-specific protocols
Nucleofector® Technology is ideally suited for applications such as CRISPR genome editing, RNAi studies, iPSC generation and the development of cell and gene therapies.
VIDEO: "Nucleofection® Technology Animation"
See how transfection with Nucleofection® Technology is different from conventional electroporation. It allows for highly efficient transfer of various substrates directly into the nucleus of cells. The modular 4D-Nucleofector® System helps you scale up from low to high-volume transfection or higher throughput without having to re-optimize.
Nucleofector® Platforms – find the right system for your lab
Lonza offers several Nucleofector® Platforms with different formats and capacities, so you can scale from small tests to larger studies and work with both suspension and adherent cells.
4D-Nucleofector® System
The 4D-Nucleofector® System is a modular, advanced electroporation platform consisting of a Core Unit combined with interchangeable functional units. Each unit is tailored to specific applications and cell numbers, giving you maximum flexibility in transfection scale, format and workflow.
4D-Nucleofector® Core Unit:
The controlling unit
The 4D‑Nucleofector® Core Unit is the central control module of the 4D‑Nucleofector® System and is required to operate the different functional units. Because one Core Unit can manage multiple modules, you can configure and expand your setup to match your specific workflow and throughput needs. The system features an intuitive touch-screen interface for designing, running and storing experiments. It also includes a library of more than 160 predefined Nucleofection® parameters for both cell lines and primary cells.
4D-Nucleofector® X Unit:
Transfecting various cell numbers in different formats
The 4D‑Nucleofector® X Unit accommodates both 20 µL Nucleocuvette® Strips and 100 µL single Nucleocuvette® Vessels, allowing you to run experiments in different formats while using the same setup. Transfection conditions can be directly transferred between these two vessel types. In addition, cells nucleofected with the X Unit can be moved to other Nucleofector® Platforms – including the 4D‑Nucleofector® 96-well Unit, the 384-well Nucleofector® System and the 4D‑Nucleofector® LV Unit – without further re-optimization.
4D-Nucleofector® Y Unit:
Adherent electroporation
Electroporation usually requires cells to be in suspension for transfection. The 4D‑Nucleofector® Y Unit overcomes this limitation by enabling electroporation of cells while they remain adherent. This makes it possible to transfect adherent primary cells – in particular neurons at defined developmental stages – without compromising their function, achieving transfection efficiencies of up to 70%.
4D-Nucleofector® 96-well Unit:
Increased throughput - 96-well transfection
The 4D‑Nucleofector® 96-well Unit provides a medium-throughput option ideal for 96-well screening, straightforward optimization of Nucleofection® conditions and assay development. Each well can be individually addressed and transfected, enabling scalable throughput. This allows you to optimize challenging cell lines on a single plate and work with flexible cell inputs ranging from 10⁴ to 10⁶ cells per reaction.
4D-Nucleofector® LV Unit:
Large-scale transfection
The 4D‑Nucleofector® LV Unit enables closed, scalable and sterile transfection of large cell numbers, from 1 x 10⁷ up to 1 x 10⁹ cells. It supports two large-scale formats: 1 mL Nucleocuvette® cartridges and LV Nucleocuvette® cartridges with processing volumes of up to 20 mL, depending on your application and required cell yield. These large-scale capabilities make the LV Unit suitable for a broad spectrum of uses. In combination with GMP-grade TheraPEAK® consumables, 21 CFR Part 11-compliant software and IQ/OQ services, the system helps streamline the transfer from research workflows to GMP-compliant cell therapy manufacturing.
384-well Nucleofector® System:
High-throughput transfection in 384-well format
The 384-well Nucleofector® System is a stand-alone, high-throughput platform designed for transfection in a 384-well format. With plate processing times of about one minute and excellent well-to-well consistency, it is ideally suited for screening workflows, including CRISPR-based screens. Because it uses the same conductive polymer in the 384-well Nucleocuvette® plates, protocols can be easily transferred between the 384-well Nucleofector® System and the 4D‑Nucleofector® System. The instrument can also be seamlessly integrated into automated liquid handling setups.
Nucleofector® kits – cell‑optimized reagents for reliable, high‑efficiency transfection
Nucleofector® Technology combines precisely defined electrical pulses with cell type‑optimized reagents to deliver DNA, RNA, RNPs and proteins efficiently into even challenging cells. To support this, Lonza offers a broad portfolio of Nucleofector® Kits tailored to specific cell types, applications and throughput needs.
Each kit contains dedicated Nucleofector® Solutions and Supplements that create a protective, physiologically relevant environment during transfection, helping to maximize efficiency while maintaining cell viability. Many kits also include Nucleocuvette® Vessels and a positive control plasmid, so you can quickly verify performance and standardize your workflow.
With the wide range of available Nucleofector® Kits – from primary immune cells and stem cells to neurons and common cell lines – you can select a ready‑to‑use solution that matches your cells, your substrate and your Nucleofector® Platform, reducing optimization time and giving you more reproducible results across experiments.
