Novel Parallelized Electroporation by Electrostatic Manipulation of a Water-in-Oil Droplet as a Microreactor

PLoS One. 2015 Dec 9;10(12):e0144254. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0144254. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

Electroporation is the most widely used transfection method for delivery of cell-impermeable molecules into cells. We developed a novel gene transfection method, water-in-oil (W/O) droplet electroporation, using dielectric oil and an aqueous droplet containing mammalian cells and transgene DNA. When a liquid droplet suspended between a pair of electrodes in dielectric oil is exposed to a DC electric field, the droplet moves between the pair of electrodes periodically and droplet deformation occurs under the intense DC electric field. During electrostatic manipulation of the droplet, the local intense electric field and instantaneous short circuit via the droplet due to droplet deformation facilitate gene transfection. This method has several advantages over conventional transfection techniques, including co-transfection of multiple transgene DNAs into even as few as 103 cells, transfection into differentiated neural cells, and the capable establishment of stable cell lines. In addition, there have been improvements in W/O droplet electroporation electrodes for disposable 96-well plates making them suitable for concurrent performance without thermal loading by a DC electric field. This technique will lead to the development of cell transfection methods for novel regenerative medicine and gene therapy.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Line*
  • DNA / genetics*
  • Electroporation*
  • Mammals
  • Static Electricity
  • Transfection / methods*
  • Transgenes*
  • Water

Substances

  • Water
  • DNA

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)’s Program to Foster Young Researchers Cutting-Edge Interdisciplinary Research and Human Resource Development Program for Science and Technology to R.N., the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) (to R.N.), and by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) (24590350 to R.N.), and by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research in Innovative Areas “Plasma Medical Innovation” (24108005 to A. M.) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan, and a Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B) (24760648 to H. K.) and a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) (26390096 to H. K) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). R.N. was also supported in part by Takeda Science Foundation and The Tatematsu Foundation.