Continuous-flow, electrically-triggered, single cell-level electroporation

Electroporation creates transient openings in the cell membrane, allowing for intracellular delivery of diagnostic and therapeutic substances. The degree of cell membrane permeability during electroporation plays a key role in regulating the size of the delivery payload as well as the overall cell viability. A microfluidic platform offers the ability to electroporate single cells with impedance detection of membrane permeabilization in a high-throughput, continuous-flow manner. We have developed a flow-based electroporation microdevice that automatically detects, electroporates, and monitors individual cells for changes in permeability and delivery. We are able to achieve the advantages of electrical monitoring of cell permeabilization, heretofore only achieved with trapped or static cells, while processing the cells in a continuous-flow environment. We demonstrate the analysis of membrane permeabilization on individual cells before and after electroporation in a continuous-flow environment, which dramati...