Mechanism of Saponin in laboratory use?

[nukeman]

Greetings,

I was googling around regarding the use of Saponin in the lab, but I couldn't really find anything useful. As far as I know, it's used to get stuff inside the cells, but I can't figure out whether it's a regular detergent or some kind of vesicle forming compound that 'transports' whatever it is you want, inside.

Anyone has a clue?