Electroporation: From Principle to Applications

Overview

Making holes in a cell membrane may sound counterintuitive at first. However, this process—known as electroporation—has become one of the most widely used techniques in modern life science and biomedical research.

This post will cover what electroporation is, how it works, why it is powerful compared to other delivery methods, and where it is applied in today’s experiments and therapies.

What Is Electroporation?

Electroporation is a technique that uses a short, strong electrical pulse to create temporary pores in the cell membrane. Through these pores, external molecules such as DNA, RNA, or proteins can enter the cell efficiently. Because the membrane recovers after the pulse in most cases, electroporation enables high delivery efficiency while preserving cell viability.

Fig.1) Image illustrating the principle of electroporation, showing DNA entering a cell through transient membrane pores.

Principle of Electroporation

The cell membrane is composed of a lipid bilayer with charged molcules, which normally serves as a protective barrier. When a strong external electric pulse is applied, those charges will be rearranged, forming temporary hydrophilic aqueous pores in the otherwise hydrophobic membrane. Once the pulse stops, cells will then close those pores and heal themselves in the corresponding media and within an incubator over time. The balance among the voltage, pulse width (length), and number of pulses becomes most important because too weak voltage will not form any pores and too strong voltage will permanently damage the cells. Along with the voltage, the pulse length and number of pulses need to be adjusted for each type of cell.

Fig.2) Illustration of the electroporation mechanism

Key points:

• These pores allow external molecules to diffuse into the cell.

• Pore size and duration depend on pulse parameters, including voltage, pulse width, and number.

• After the electroporation, the membrane usually recovers naturally.

Applications of Electroporation

Electroporation is used across research, clinical, and industrial settings:

Gene Transfer

• Delivery of plasmid DNA, mRNA, siRNA, and miRNA

• High efficiency without permanent damage

• Purposes:

  • to make new target proteins

  • to change the cells temporarily or permanently to study behavior

  • to express target genes and study their functions

    
    

Immunotherapy

• Genetic engineering of T cells and NK cells for therapies such as CAR-T

• Purposes:

  • Car-T cell engineering

  • Immune cell modification

    
    

Genome Editing

• Introduction of CRISPR/Cas9 components

• Particularly effective for hard-to-transfect cells (e.g., stem cells, immune cells)

Cancer Treatment

• Efficient delivery of drugs into tumor cells

  
  

Why Electroporation Matters

Electroporation stands out because it combines:

• High delivery efficiency

• Broad cell-type compatibility

• Direct delivery

• Non-viral safety advantages

• Fast and easy steps

  
  

As a result, it continues to play a central role in basic research, cell therapy, gene therapy, and next-generation biomedical technologies.