Review of Delivering Foreign Substances into Live Cells by
Microinjection: Key Technologies and Applications
Abstract
A key operation in modern genetic engineering is to deliver foreign
substances (like modified subcellular organelles, DNA molecules, and
drugs) into live cells. Compared with the traditional methods like
polyethyleneimine (PEI), cationic liposomes, viral vectors,
electroporation, gene gun, etc., microinjection is a rising star due to
the advantages of excellent safety, full controllability, high
precision, and high survival rate. This review focuses on the recent
development of microinjection technology and its applications in animal
cells, yeast, fungal cells, and plant cells. Guidelines are provided for
selecting the most appropriate microinjection method and system
configuration for different application scenarios. When the outer
membrane of the host cell is difficult to break, the piezo-driven
penetrator could assist the penetration significantly and causes less
damage to the host cell during microinjection process. The major
existing challenges in microinjection are also analyzed. Overall,
microinjection could become a standard technology for modern genetic
engineering and microbiology.