Continuous Cell Electroporation for Efficient DNA and siRNA Delivery Based on Laminar Microfluidic Chips

Electroporation is a high-efficiency and low-toxicity physical gene transfer method. Traditional electroporation is limited to only low volume cell samples. Here we present a continuous cell electroporation method based on commonly used microfluidic chip fabrication technology. Using easily fabricated PDMS microfluidic chip, syringe pumps, and pulse generator, we show efficient delivery of both DNA and siRNA into different cell lines. We describe the protocol of chip fabrication, apparatus setup, and cell electroporation assay. Typically, the fabrication of the devices takes 1 or 2 days and the continuous electroporation assay takes 1 h.