A technique in which electric pulses of intensity in kilovolts per centimeter and of microsecond-to-millisecond duration cause a temporary loss of the semipermeability of cell membranes, thus leading to ion leakage, escape of metabolites, and increased uptake by cells of drugs, molecular probes, and DNA. Some applications of electroporation include introduction of plasmids or foreign DNA into living cells for transfection, fusion of cells to prepare hybridomas, and insertion of proteins into cell membranes.
A process utilized to introduce a foreign gene into the genome of an organism. In 1995, the U.S. company Dekalb Genetics Corp. received a patent for producing genetically engineered com via introduction of a foreign gene into com cells via electroporation. Electroporation, also called electroporesis, or electropermeabilization, uses a brief direct-current (dc) electrical pulse to cause formation of “micropores” (tiny holes) in the surface of cells or protoplasts suspended in a solution (water) containing DNA sequences (genes). After the gene(s) enter cell via the temporarily created micropores, the electrical pulse ceases, and the micropores close so that the gene(s) cannot depart the cell. The cell then incorporates (some) of the new genetic material (genes) into its genetic complement (genome), and produces whatever product (i.e., a protein) the newly introduced gene codes for.