Abstract
We present a microfluidics-based technique, which delivers small molecules and genes into cells under constant direct current (DC) voltage (provided by a common DC power supply), taking advantage of the field intensity variation in a microfluidic channel due to its geometry. In this study, we demonstrated the delivery of two molecules into Chinese hamster ovary (CHO-K1) cells: a membrane impermeable nucleic acid dye (SYTOX ® Green) and a plasmid vector carrying the gene for green fluorescent protein (pEGFP-C1). By tuning the electrical parameters and other conditions, we were able to conduct the electroporative delivery with performance comparable to that of electropulsation. Our technique provides a simple solution to electroporation-based drug and gene delivery by eliminating the need for a pulse generator. This new electroporative delivery technique paves the way to high throughput drug and gene screening on a microfluidic platform.