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Updated: Feb 19, 2026

Permeabilization of Adhered Cells Using an Inert Gas Jet
Published on: September 4, 2013
Pyroelectricity as a possible mechanism for cell membrane permeabilization
Tomás García-Sánchez1, Adeline Muscat1, Isabelle Leray1
1Vectorology and Anticancer Therapies, UMR 8203, CNRS, Univ. Paris-Sud, Gustave Roussy, Université Paris-Saclay, 94805 Villejuif, France.
Abstract:
The effects of pyroelectricity on cell membrane permeability had never been explored. Pyroelectricity consists in the generation of an electric field in the surface of some materials when a change in temperature is produced. In the present study, tourmaline microparticles, which are known to display pyroelectrical properties, were subjected to different changes in temperature upon exposure to cells in order to induce an electric field at their surface. Then, the changes in the permeability of the cell membrane to a cytotoxic agent (bleomycin) were assessed by a cloning efficacy test. An increase in the permeability of the cell membrane was only detected when tourmaline was subjected to a change in temperature. This suggests that the apparition of an induced pyroelectrical electric field on the material could actually be involved in the observed enhancement of the cell membrane permeability as a result of cell electropermeabilization.
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