Local electroporation of a single cell using a scanning ion conductance microscope

Abstract

We developed a novel electroporation technique for molecular delivery into a single cell. A nanopipette, a thermally pulled glass capillary, is prepared as to act as a pair of tiny electrodes for single-cell electroporation. An Ag/AgCl wire is inserted into the nanopipette, and the outside edge of the nanopipette is coated by Ag sputtering. Electric pulses are applied between the outside and inside electrodes to form a local electric field at the edge of the nanopipette. To position the pipette edge in the vicinity of the cell membrane, we control the probe–surface distance using a scanning ion conductance microscope (SICM). The SICM technique achieves non-contact approach of the nanopipette edge on the cell membrane, which allows low-invasive electroporation of a single cell. As a demonstration of this technique, a fluorescent molecule of propidium iodide was successfully delivered into a single HeLa cell.