(340e) Electroporation and Material Delivery Mechanism of Nanochannel Electroporation

Cell electroporation is one of the well established non-viral approaches for gene therapy and has been widely used by biomedical researchers. Its transfection efficiency and uniformity have been improved in recent years using microfluidics based single cell electroporation. A new nanochannel electroporation (NEP) was developed recently in our laboratory to realize dosage-controlled delivery that could not be achieved by bulk electroporation (BEP) and microchannel electroporation (MEP). Compared to BEP and MEP, NEP has convection dominated delivery, minimal cell damage, and the capability of delivering large transfection agent. In this study, we investigate the poration and material delivery in the processes of NEP. In the experiment, electroporation mechanisms of NEP were observed through the delivery of quantum dots. Detailed electric field, membrane poration, and material delivery under the pulsed field are calculated by computer simulation. From the calculated, electrophoretic and diffusive transports, transmembrane potential distributions, and poration profiles, NEP is proved to be a unique single cell electroporation tool for does-controlled transfection.