Measurement of the efficiency of cell membrane electroporation using pulsed ac fields

Abstract

Electroporation is a long-established technique used to deliver molecules to cells. Most in vivo electroporation protocols entail applying square-wave, or monotonically-decreasing pulses but relatively few have explored the use of pulsed ac fields. This study measures the efficiency of electroporation in human kidney embryonal cells, using pulsed ac electric fields of peak amplitude 30–200 kV m−1. The results indicate that optimum electroporation efficiencies of up to 70% can be achieved using pulses at frequencies of 20–160 kHz. Increasing the field strength results in higher electroporation efficiency, but also increases cell kill. This study confirms that efficient electroporation may be achieved using pulsed ac fields. This finding raises the possibility of a wider range of clinical and laboratory applications based on ac technology and avoiding the use of invasive needle electrodes.