Compared with other biological and chemical conversion methods, electroporation is a valuable and effective alternative method. Creative Bioarray researchers help customers apply micro/nanotechnology to the field of cell reprogramming and develop new physical delivery systems to provide reprogramming factors safely and effectively.
Background
Electroporation has been widely used as a popular non-viral gene delivery technique since it was first reported in 1982. Electroporation enhances the transient permeability of cell membranes and diffusion/endocytosis through the action of a high-intensity electric field to deliver cytosolic cargo. This technique allows the delivery of a wide variety of cargoes, including nucleic acids or genes, proteins, small molecules, and nanoparticles into the cells. This multifaceted ability makes electroporation have the potential to be applied in multiple fields, such as adoptive immunotherapy, gene editing, regenerative medicine, and cell reprogramming.
Bulk electroporation (BEP)-based delivery system has been used to deliver epitope vectors to produce integration-free hiPSC in vitro and reprogram somatic cells directly into neurons and oligodendrocytes in vivo. However, this method has multiple drawbacks including highly stochastic transfection, low intracellular delivery efficiency, and cell damage caused by high electric fields. To avoid these challenges, researchers at Creative Bioarray have focused on developing new techniques for delivering reprogramming factors in a safer and effective manner.
Fig.1 NEP-mediated delivery. (Fang, 2020)
Technical Support
In order to provide reprogramming factors safely and effectively, we combine micro/nanotechnology with cell reprogramming to explore powerful tools to improve reprogramming efficiency and solve the problems in the cell reprogramming process that cannot be solved by traditional transfection techniques.
- Microchannel electroporation (MEP)
- Microscale symmetric electroporator array (μSEA)
- Nano-electroporation (NEP)
- High-throughput NEP biochips
- Nanostraw electroporation
MEP is a microfluidic-based electroporation technique. This technique offers the advantages of improved reprogramming efficiency, precise dose control, and single-cell or high-throughput molecular delivery.
μSEA is a vortex-assisted microfluidic electroporation system. This system not only allows continuous intracellular delivery of multiple molecules, but also offers the advantages of real-time visualization, dose control, high transfection efficiency and multi-molecule delivery.
NEP systems allow faster and more efficient transfection of cells at the single-cell level without affecting cell viability.
This system greatly improves cell loading efficiency and allows large numbers of MEF cells to be transfected with OSKM plasmids for iPSC reprogramming.
This method enables high-throughput cell transfection with high uniformity and dose control.
Advantages of Our Services
- Skillful research team
- Flexible scientific solutions
- One-stop pipeline
- Detailed after-sales service
The technologies of efficiently transfecting molecules into cultured cells are critical in cell basic research and stem cell reprogramming/differentiation. Equipped with the first-class cell reprogramming platform, Creative Bioarray can provide customers with services to develop physical delivery systems suitable for reprogramming and provide flexible solutions according to their reprogramming needs. Please feel free to contact us to discuss your project with technical experts.
Reference
- Fang, J.; et al. Engineering biomaterials with micro/nanotechnologies for cell reprogramming. ACS nano. 2020, 14(2): 1296-1318.