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Delivery of molecules into cells using localized single cell electroporation on ITO micro-electrode based transparent chip

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Abstract

Single cell electroporation is one of the nonviral method which successfully allows transfection of exogenous macromolecules into individual living cell. We present localized cell membrane electroporation at single-cell level by using indium tin oxide (ITO) based transparent micro-electrodes chip with inverted microscope. A focused ion beam (FIB) technique has been successfully deployed to fabricate transparent ITO micro-electrodes with submicron gaps, which can generate more intense electric field to produce very localized cell membrane electroporation. In our approach, we have successfully achieved 0.93 μm or smaller electroporation region on the cell surface to inject PI (Propidium Iodide) dye into the cell with 60 % cell viability. This experiments successfully demonstrate the cell self-recover process from the injected PI dye intensity variation. Our localized cell membrane electroporation technique (LSCMEP) not only generates reversible electroporation process but also it provides a clear optical path for potentially monitoring/tracking of drugs to deliver in single cell level.

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Acknowledgement

The authors greatly appreciate the financial support from National Science Council (NSC) of Taiwan ROC through National Nanotechnology and Nanoscience Program under Contract no. NSC- 98-2120-M-007-003 and NSC 99-2120-M-007-009.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Nano Engineering and Microsystems, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu City, Taiwan

    Sheng-Chiech Chen, Tuhin Subhra Santra, Tsung-Ju Chen & Fan-Gang Tseng

  2. Microsystem Technology Center, ITRI South, Industrial Technology Research Institute, Hsinchu City, Taiwan

    Chia-Jung Chang

  3. Department of Engineering and System Science, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu City, Taiwan

    Pen-Cheng Wang & Fan-Gang Tseng

  4. Division of Mechanics, Research Center for Applied Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan

    Fan-Gang Tseng

Authors
  1. Sheng-Chiech Chen
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  2. Tuhin Subhra Santra
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  3. Chia-Jung Chang
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  4. Tsung-Ju Chen
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  5. Pen-Cheng Wang
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  6. Fan-Gang Tseng
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fan-Gang Tseng.

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Sheng-Chiech Chen and Tuhin Subhra Santra are both first author, name has been arranged alphabetically.

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Chen, SC., Santra, T.S., Chang, CJ. et al. Delivery of molecules into cells using localized single cell electroporation on ITO micro-electrode based transparent chip. Biomed Microdevices 14, 811–817 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10544-012-9660-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10544-012-9660-9

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