Microfabricated electroporation chip for single cell membrane permeabilization

Silicon microfabrication technology was used to develop a chip that can incorporate a live biological cell in its electrical circuit and thereby induce controlled electroporation in the cell. Electroporation employs electrical pulses applied across a cell for cell membrane permeabilization. Commonly used in biotechnology for genetic engineering of cells in a batch, this chip is the first microfabricated device in which cells can be individually electroporated. This paper describes the design and fabrication of the chip in detail. To characterize the performance of the microelectroporation chip, an electrical model of the device is developed together with typical experimental results. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.