Electroporation is a technique used to increase the permeability of the cell membrane by applying an electrical field to cells. This allows for the introduction of chemicals, drugs, electrode arrays, or DNA into the cells. Electroporation is performed with electroporators, which create an electrostatic field in a cell solution. The cell suspension is pipetted into a glass or plastic cuvette which has two aluminum electrodes on its sides. An electrical pulse at an optimized voltage and lasting only a few microseconds to a millisecond is discharged through the cell suspension, which disturbs the phospholipid bilayer of the membrane and results in the formation of temporary pores.
Electroporation is a dynamic phenomenon that depends on the local transmembrane voltage at each point on the cell membrane. It is generally accepted that for a given pulse duration and shape, a specific transmembrane voltage threshold exists for the manifestation of the electroporation phenomenon (from 0.5 V to 1 V). This leads to the definition of an electric field magnitude threshold for electroporation (Eth). That is, only the cells within areas where E≧Eth are electroporated.
Electroporation offers many advantages in comparison to other transfection methods, with the main benefits being its applicability for transient and stable transfection of all cell types and its ability to transfect a large number of cells in a short amount of time once optimum electroporation conditions are determined. However, the major drawback of electroporation is substantial cell death caused by high voltage pulses and only partially successful membrane repair, requiring the use of greater quantities of cells compared to chemical transfection.
Some applications of electroporation include DNA transfection or transformation, direct transfer of plasmids between cells, induced cell fusion, trans-dermal drug delivery, cancer tumor electrochemotherapy, and gene therapy. Electroporation is used in many areas of molecular biology research as well as in the medical field.
