Effects of conjugated oligoelectrolytes on cell transformation

Abstract

A key step in genetic engineering is the delivery of genetic material into the cell. Increasing bacterial cell transformation efficiency can help advance an area of scientific research with a wide range of applications. Previous work has demonstrated conjugated oligoelectrolytes (COEs) neutralize the surface charge of bacterial cells and increase membrane permeability, which can potenitally increase their competence in accepting exogenous DNA. This study tested the effect of the COE DSSN+ combined with electroporation on the transformation of Escherichia coli cells. Multiple experiments with varying concentrations of DSSN+ and varying voltages provided bacterial colony growth and transformation efficiency data for each of the testing conditions. A repeatable experimental procedure is outlined with comments on potential future work that can help better understand and improve cell transformation. While this study cannot make any statistically significant claim from the data, the results of the experiments still provide necessary insight into the effect of DSSN+ on cell transformation.