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Updated: Jun 25, 2026
The Fabrication and Operation of a Continuous Flow, Micro-Electroporation System with Permeabilization Detection
Published on: January 7, 2022
Technological advances in microfluidic electroporation for biomedical applications.
Junchen Xi1, Zhiwei Fan1, Jiao Hua1
1State Key Laboratory for Development and Utilization of Forest Food Resources, Joint Laboratory of Advanced Biomedical Materials (NFU-UGent), Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China.
Microfluidic electroporation offers a low-voltage, high-efficiency method for intracellular delivery, overcoming limitations of conventional electroporation. This technology enhances cell engineering and therapeutic development with improved cell viability and throughput.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Cell Biology
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Intracellular delivery is crucial for accessing cellular targets with nucleic acids, proteins, drugs, and nanomaterials.
- Conventional bulk electroporation faces challenges including high voltages, cell damage, and by-products.
- Microfluidic electroporation presents a promising alternative for controlled and efficient intracellular delivery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent advancements in microfluidic electroporation technology.
- To analyze the structure-field-cell framework in microfluidic electroporation systems.
- To highlight the impact of microfluidic electroporation on various biomedical applications.
Main Methods:
- Integration of microscale cell handling with confined electric fields.
- Engineering of microchannels and micro/nanoelectrode designs.
- Application of multiphysics-assisted strategies and real-time evaluation methods.
Main Results:
- Achieved delivery/transfection efficiencies exceeding 70%, with optimized systems reaching 90-99%.
- Maintained high cell viabilities, generally above 85-95%.
- Demonstrated successful applications in immune-cell engineering, gene therapy, drug screening, and more.
Conclusions:
- Microfluidic electroporation significantly improves upon conventional methods for intracellular delivery.
- The technology offers a tunable balance between delivery efficiency, cell viability, and throughput.
- Future directions include developing integrated, automated platforms for precision medicine.
