Low Voltage, Economical Electroporation Device

描述(申请人提供)：电穿孔描述了将细胞暴露在高电场中，从而导致瞬时膜通透性的过程。这一程序在生命科学中获得了广泛的应用，用于在细胞内输送核酸、离子、染料和药物。目前的电穿孔技术需要专门的电源来产生成功交付应用所必需的高电场强度。我们建议开发一种替代的新的电穿孔设备，这是受最近描述流经微流体通道的细胞的电穿孔的工作所刺激的。我们的设备还将允许使用低电压，但支持大容量样品处理，与标准电源一起工作，并适用于原核和真核细胞。拟议的研究将确定该系统的替代用途，包括高通量、无试剂细胞裂解和电场巴氏杀菌。在这项研究期间开发的产品将能够以显著降低的成本广泛使用电穿孔。公众与人类的相关性：拟议的研究将导致开发可供生物医学研究社区使用的新型电穿孔设备，以增强对疾病过程的基本理解。该产品将通过实现巴氏杀菌的新的、低热量和能源的使用过程对公众健康产生直接影响。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Electroporation describes the process of exposing cells to high electrical field which leads to transient membrane permeabilization. This procedure has gained widespread use in the life sciences for intracellular delivery of nucleic acids, ions, dyes and drugs. Current electroporation techniques require specialized power supplies to create the high electrical field strengths necessary for successful delivery applications. We propose the development of an alternate new electroporation device stimulated by recent work describing electroporation of cells flowing through microfluidic channels. Our device will also permit the use of low voltages, but enable high volume sample processing, function with standard power supplies, and be applicable for prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. The research proposed will define alternative uses for the system including high throughput reagentless cell lysis and electrical field pasteurization. The products developed during this research will enable widespread use of electroporation at significantly reduced costs. PUBLIC HUMAN RELEVANCE: The proposed research will lead to the development of novel electroporation devices that can be used by the biomedical research community to enhance the basic understanding of disease processes. This product will have a direct impact on public health by enabling a novel, low heat and energy use process for pasteurization.