Nano-Localized Single-Cell Nano-Electroporation

The ability to deliver foreign cargo into single living cells is of great interest in cell biology and therapeutic research. Here, an efficient and fast method of single or multiple positions based on nano-localized single-cell nano-electroporation is reported. The device consists of an array of triangular shape ITO nano-electrodes with a 70 nm gap between two nano-electrodes and each of having 40 nm tip diameter. Voltage is applied between nano-electrodes to generate an intense electric field, which electroporates multiple nano-localized regions of the targeted single-cell membrane, and biomolecules gently deliver into cells by pressurizing pumping flow, without affecting cell viability. The platform successfully delivers dyes, QDs, and plasmids into different cell types with the variation of field strength, pulse duration, and the number of pulses. This new approach allows us to analyze different biomolecular delivery into single living cells with qualitative dosage control, high transfection efficiency (> 96%, for CL1-0 cell), and high cell viability (~100%), which potentially beneficial for cellular diagnostics and therapeutic applications.