Investigation of the electroporation effect in a single cell

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the electroporation phenomenon in a single cell exposed to ultra short (μs) and high voltage (kV) electric pulses. Design/methodology/approach – The problem is addressed by two complementary approaches. First, numerical simulations based on an asymptotic approximation derived from the Smoluchowski theory are used to calculate the pore generation, growth and size evolution at the membrane of a spherical cell model, immersed in a suspension medium and consisting of cytoplasm and membrane. The numerical calculations are solved using the finite difference method. Second, an in vitro experiment with LLC-MK2 cells is carried out in which electroporation was monitored with molecules of propidium iodide. This part also comprehended the design and manufacturing of a portable electric pulse generator capable of providing rectangular pulses with amplitude of 1,000 V and duration in the range of 1-μs to 100-μs. The pulse generator is composed of three modules: a high voltage D...