Home Cell Biology How to Perform Transformation
Steps
  1. 1 Gather materials and prepare tubes 00:02
  2. 2 Add DNA to competent cells 00:40
  3. 3 Incubate cells on ice 00:55
  4. 4 Heat shock the cells 01:02
  5. 5 Cool cells on ice again 01:09
  6. 6 Add SOC medium and recover 01:14
  7. 7 Prepare transformed cells for plating 01:25
Cell Biology Promega Corporation

How to Perform Transformation

Protocol
Difficulty
intermediate

Steps

1
Gather materials and prepare tubes

Collect recombinant DNA, uncut plasmid as control, SOC medium, and competent bacterial cells. Thaw the frozen competent cells and transfer 100 microliters to a chilled tube.

▶ 00:02
2
Add DNA to competent cells

Add recombinant DNA to the first tube of competent cells. Prepare a control tube with the same volume of cells and add uncut plasmid instead.

▶ 00:40
3
Incubate cells on ice

Immediately place both tubes on ice and incubate for 10 minutes to allow DNA uptake.

▶ 00:55
4
Heat shock the cells

Transfer tubes to a 42 degrees Celsius water bath and heat shock for 45 to 50 seconds to facilitate DNA entry into cells.

▶ 01:02
5
Cool cells on ice again

Place the tubes back on ice for another 2 minutes to allow cells to recover.

▶ 01:09
6
Add SOC medium and recover

Add 900 microliters of cold SOC medium to each tube and incubate at 37 degrees Celsius with shaking for 60 minutes to allow cells to express antibiotic resistance genes.

▶ 01:14
7
Prepare transformed cells for plating

The transformed cells are now ready for dilution and plating on selective media to identify successfully transformed colonies.

▶ 01:25
💬 Comments coming soon