Abstract
Cell electropermeabilization is a very powerful tool for cell biology. When performed under suitable conditions, the electric field induction of a new organization of the plasma membrane leads it to a “permeabilized” state. This organization is transient but can nevertheless be maintained for some minutes. The cytoplasmic content can then be changed without any harmful effect on the cell viability by simply incubating the cells after electric pulsation in a new buffer containing the compounds of interest. Molecules with molecular weight up to 1 kDa and nucleic acids can then cross the plasma membrane. An equilibration between the outer and inner cellular volumes occurs during the transient permeable state. With the spontaneous reversibility of the membrane organization, the cell recovers a normal state excepted that the content of the cytoplasm is the one we have choosen.
- More than a way to zap a cell -
(Biotechnology (1985) 3 187)
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© 1988 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Teissie, J., Rols, M.P. (1988). Electropermeabilization and Electrofusion of Cells. In: Latruffe, N., Gaudemer, Y., Vignais, P., Azzi, A. (eds) Dynamics of Membrane Proteins and Cellular Energetics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-73905-7_17
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-73905-7_17
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