Quantification of pulsed electric field for the rupture of giant vesicles with various surface charges, cholesterols and osmotic pressures

PLoS One. 2022 Jan 13;17(1):e0262555. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0262555. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

Electropermeabilization is a promising phenomenon that occurs when pulsed electric field with high frequency is applied to cells/vesicles. We quantify the required values of pulsed electric fields for the rupture of cell-sized giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) which are prepared under various surface charges, cholesterol contents and osmotic pressures. The probability of rupture and the average time of rupture are evaluated under these conditions. The electric field changes from 500 to 410 Vcm-1 by varying the anionic lipid mole fraction from 0 to 0.60 for getting the maximum probability of rupture (i.e., 1.0). In contrast, the same probability of rupture is obtained for changing the electric field from 410 to 630 Vcm-1 by varying the cholesterol mole fraction in the membranes from 0 to 0.40. These results suggest that the required electric field for the rupture decreases with the increase of surface charge density but increases with the increase of cholesterol. We also quantify the electric field for the rupture of GUVs containing anionic mole fraction of 0.40 under various osmotic pressures. In the absence of osmotic pressure, the electric field for the rupture is obtained 430 Vcm-1, whereas the field is 300 Vcm-1 in the presence of 17 mOsmL-1, indicating the instability of GUVs at higher osmotic pressures. These investigations open an avenue of possibilities for finding the electric field dependent rupture of cell-like vesicles along with the insight of biophysical and biochemical processes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cholesterol / chemistry*
  • Electricity
  • Electroporation / methods*
  • Membranes
  • Osmotic Pressure / physiology
  • Phosphatidylcholines / chemistry
  • Phosphatidylglycerols / chemistry
  • Surface Properties
  • Unilamellar Liposomes / chemistry*
  • Unilamellar Liposomes / metabolism

Substances

  • Phosphatidylcholines
  • Phosphatidylglycerols
  • Unilamellar Liposomes
  • Cholesterol

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Bangladesh (No. 39.00.0000.009.14.011.20-Phy’s-566/1902), Ministry of Education, Bangladesh (No. 37.20.0000.004.033.020.2016.1053), Information and Communication Technology Division (ICTD), (Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology), Bangladesh (No. 56.00.0000.028.33.105.18-05) and Committee for Advanced Studies and Research (CASR) of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Bangladesh (No. DAERS/R-01/CASR-339th/2021) to Mohammad Abu Sayem Karal. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. There was no additional external funding received for this study.