Modular Serial Flow Through device for pulsed electric field treatment of the liquid samples

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Biophysics
• Food Science

Background:

• Cell membrane permeabilization is crucial for drug/gene delivery and microbial inactivation.
• Pulsed electric field (PEF) treatment is a promising method, but current technology lacks controllable large-volume operation.
• Electroporation offers a method for cell membrane permeabilization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an experimental setup for flow-through electroporation with online flow rate regulation and feedback control.
• To address the challenge of controllable large-volume operation in electroporation.
• To evaluate the system's efficiency for microbial inactivation.

Main Methods:

• Designed a modular, serial flow-through co-linear chamber with uniform geometry and mesh electrodes.
• Utilized mathematical modeling to evaluate electric field distribution and flow profiles.
• Tested the system for Escherichia coli inactivation, comparing flow-through chambers with a static chamber.

Main Results:

• The novel chamber design ensures uniform electric field distribution and fluid velocity.
• Mathematical modeling provided insights into system performance.
• Experiments demonstrated the system's capability for Escherichia coli inactivation.

Conclusions:

• The developed flow-through electroporation system enables controllable large-volume operation.
• This technology has potential for applications in biotechnology, medicine, and food processing.
• Further research can optimize inactivation efficiency and energy consumption.