Colloquium
September 9, 2005

Daniel Fologea
U of A Department of Physics

Electroporation: from Classical Electrodynamics to Genetic Engineering

When a living cell is subjected to an external electric field, a transversal voltage will develop across the cell membrane, its value being dependent on the particular geometry of the cell and the amplitude of the external electric field. By increasing the transmembrane voltage, small transient pores appear in the cell membrane and the permeability for ions, proteins, DNA or other large molecules is increased. If the external electric field acts for a short time, the phenomenon is reversible and the cell will recover its entire functionality.

Some theoretical aspects will be discussed regarding electrical pore formation, applications for electromediated gene transfer in yeast, bacteria and plants - and other possible applications.