Microscale Vortex-assisted Electroporator for Sequential Molecular Delivery

Summary

A microfluidic vortex assisted electroporation platform was developed for sequential delivery of multiple molecules into identical cell populations with precise and independent dosage control. The system’s size based target cell purification step preceding electroporation aided to enhance molecular delivery efficiency and processed cell viability.

Abstract

Electroporation has received increasing attention in the past years, because it is a very powerful technique for physically introducing non-permeant exogenous molecular probes into cells. This work reports a microfluidic electroporation platform capable of performing multiple molecule delivery to mammalian cells with precise and molecular-dependent parameter control. The system’s ability to isolate cells with uniform size distribution allows for less variation in electroporation efficiency per given electric field strength; hence enhanced sample viability. Moreover, its process visualization feature allows for observation of the fluorescent molecular uptake process in real-time, which permits prompt molecular delivery parameter adjustments in situ for efficiency enhancement. To show the vast capabilities of the reported platform, macromolecules with different sizes and electrical charges (e.g., Dextran with MW of 3,000 and 70,000 Da) were delivered to metastatic breast cancer cells with high delivery efficiencies (>70%) for all tested molecules. The developed platform has proven its potential for use in the expansion of research fields where on-chip electroporation techniques can be beneficial.

Introduction

In recent years, the use of electric pulses to facilitate cytosolic delivery of extracellular molecules has become an attractive means of manipulating mammalian cells.¹ This process, also known as electroporation, reversibly permeabilizes the cellular membrane, allowing for inherently membrane impermeable molecules to gain access to the cells’ intracellular milieu. Because virtually any molecule can be introduced into the cytosol via temporary created pores in the membrane of any type of cells using electroporation, the technique has been reported as being more reproducible, universally applicable, and more efficient than other methods including virus....

Protocol

1. Cell Preparation

1. Plate 1×10⁵ cells/ml of metastatic breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 in a volume of 10 ml per tissue culture T75 flask in Leibovitz’s L-15 Medium supplemented with 10% (v/v) fetal bovine serum and 1% penicillin-streptomycin.
2. Incubate MDA-MB-231 cells in a humidified incubator at 37 °C with 0% CO₂ environment.
3. Harvest cells for experiments 2 days after seeding by treating cells with 0.25% trypsin-EDTA for 2 min and inactivate trypsin’s enzymatic activity by adding 8 ml of the growth media.
4. Pellet cells by centrifuging for 5 min at 200 × g and resuspend in Dul....

Results

The developed parallel microfluidic electroporator delivered macromolecules with varied sizes and electrical charges into living metastatic breast cancer cells. Successful molecular delivery was qualitatively determined by monitoring changes in fluorescent intensity of electroporated orbiting cells in situ and confirmed by quantitative measurements via flow cytometry analysis. Figure 4A shows that 90% of treated cells uptake the 70,000 Da neutral dextran. For the statistical analysis, an intensi.......

Discussion

With the new parallelized electroporation platform, 10-fold enhancement in throughput and efficiency of multi-molecule delivery was achieved in addition to all the merits that the previously developed single-chamber system provides.¹⁸ Previously available merits include (i) pre-purification of target cells with uniform size distribution for viability enhancement, (ii) precise and individual molecular dosage control, and (iii) low operational electrical current. Fluorescently labeled dextrans were chosen as mol.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
MDA-MB-231 cancer cell line	American Type Culture Collection (ATCC)	HTB-26
Leibovitz’s L-15 Medium	Cellgro, Mediatech, Inc.	10-045-CV
Fetal bovine serum (FBS)	Gibco, Life Technologies	16000-044
Penicillin-streptomycin	Sigma-Aldrich	P4333
Dulbecco's phosphate buffered saline (DPBS)	Cellgro, Mediatech, Inc.	21-030
Trypsin	Gibco, Life Technologies	25200-056
Flow Cytometer easyCyte HT	Millipore	0500-4008
Oxygen Plasma Cleaner	Technics Micro-RIE
Dektak 6M surface profiler	Veeco
KMPR 1050	Microchem
SYLGARD 184 SILICONE ELASTOMER KIT	Dow Corning
Compressed Nitrogen gas	Airgas	NI 300
High Pressure Regulator	McMaster-Carr	6162K22
Downstream regulator	McMaster-Carr	4000K563
High-speed 3/2way-8 valve manifold	Festo
Inline Check Valve	Idex Health and Science	CV3320
5/32" OD x 3/32" ID Polyurethan tubes	Pneumadyne	PU-156F-0
1/4" OD X 0.17" ID Polyurethan tubes	Pneumadyne	PU-250PB-4
1/16" PEEK tubings	Festo	P1533
1/32" PEEK tubings	Idex Health and Science	P1569
PEEK tubing unions	Idex Health and Science	P881
Pulse Generator	HP	8110A
Aluminum Wire	Bob Martin Company	6061 ALUM
Oscilloscope	Agilent	DSO3062A
50 ml centrifuge tubes	VWR	21008-178
15 ml centrifuge tube	VWR	21008-216
T75 culture flask	VWR	82050-862
Dextran, Tetramethylrhodamine, 3,000 MW, Anionic	Gibco, Life Technologies	D3307
Dextran, Tetramethylrhodamine, 70,000 MW, Neutral	Gibco, Life Technologies	D1819
Dextran, Texas Red, 3,000 MW, Neutral	Gibco, Life Technologies	D3329