Membrane Conductance Analysis on Single-cell Electroporation with Electrolyte-filled Capillary

摘要

Single-cell electroporation with electrolyte-filled capillary is a selective technique that affects the target cell without any consequences for the neighbouring cells. Inhomogeneous electric field caused by interaction of capillary, cell and environment in the experiment make the optimization setup difficult for DNA transfection efficiency. A electroporation model of membrane conductivity with experimental parameters was used to analyze the influence of cell-to-tip distance, cell-capillary dimensions relation, electrolyte and cytoplasm conductivity, and strength of the pulses on electroporation. Simulation results demonstrate that the nonlinear electric field distribution on cell membrane depends on tip-to-cell distance and may be the cause of cell survival. The electroporation with capillary are affected by the external medium, relation between the cell and capillary radius, tip-to-cell distance, and strength of the applied potential.