How Imaging Molecule Uptake into Cells can Reveal the Mechanisms of Membrane Electropermeabilization

Abstract

Cell membranes can be transiently permeabilized under application of electric field pulses. This process, called electropermeabilization or electroporation, allows hydrophilic molecules, such as anticancer drugs and DNA, to enter into cells and tissues. Single cell imaging experiments revealed that the uptake of molecules is a complex multi-step that takes place in well-defined membrane regions under processes that affect the entire membrane, depend on the properties of the molecules (size, charge) and in which the cytoskeleton can play a major role.