Transfection is the process of deliberately introducing nucleic acids into cells. The term is often used for non-viral methods in eukaryotic cells. It may also refer to other methods and cell types, although other terms are preferred: "
transformation" is more often used to describe non-viral
DNA transfer in
bacteria and non-animal
eukaryotic cells, including plant cells. In animal cells, transfection is the preferred term as transformation is also used to refer to progression to a cancerous state (
carcinogenesis) in these cells.
Transduction is often used to describe virus-mediated DNA transfer.