Electroporation, or electropermeabilization, is a significant increase in the electrical conductivity and permeability of the cell plasma membrane caused by externally applied electrical field. It usually used in molecular biology as a way of introducing some substance inside the cell: by loading it with a molecular probe, bring in a drug that can change cell's function, or a piece of coding DNA. Jump to: navigation, search Electrical conductivity is a measure of how well a material accommodates the transport of electric charge. ... Jump to: navigation, search Drawing of a cell membrane A component of every biological cell, the selectively permeable cell membrane (or plasma membrane or plasmalemma) is a thin and structured bilayer of phospholipid and protein molecules that envelopes the cell. ... In physics, an electric field or E-field is an effect produced by an electric charge that exerts a force on charged objects in its vicinity. ... Jump to: navigation, search Molecular biology is the study of biology at a molecular level. ... Jump to: navigation, search Space-filling model of a section of DNA molecule Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions specifying the biological development of all cellular forms of life (and many viruses). ...

This unnatural increase in permeability is theoretically explained as a process of formation of very small openings (pores) in the plasma membrane. If the strength of electrical field and duration of exposure to it are properly chosen, the pores formed by the electrical pulse reseal after a short period of time, during which the extracellular compounds have a chance to get inside the cell. However, excessive exposure of live cells to electrical fields can also cause apoptosis and/or necrosis -- the processes that result in cell death. Such harsh treatments are used for killing tumor cells. In biology, apoptosis (from the Greek words apo = from and ptosis = falling, pronounced ap-a-tow-sis[1]) is one of the main types of programmed cell death (PCD). ...

In molecular biology, the process of electroporation is used for the transformation of bacteria or plant protoplasts. In addition to the lipid membranes, bacteria also have cell walls which are different from the lipid membranes and are made of cellulose and its derivatives. However, the cellulose walls are naturally porous, they only act as stiff shells that protect bacteria from severe environmental impacts. If bacteria and plasmids are mixed together, the plasmid can be transferred into the cell after application of a pulsed electrical field, which causes pore formation in the bacterial plasma membrane. Several hundred volts across a distance of several millimeters are typically used in this process. Afterwards, the cells have to be handled carefully until they have had a chance to divide producing new cells that contain reproduced plasmid. This process is usually ten times as effective as chemical transformation. Transformation is the genetic alteration of a cell resulting from the introduction, uptake and expression of foreign genetic material (DNA or RNA). ... Phyla/Divisions Actinobacteria Aquificae Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi Chlamydiae/Verrucomicrobia Chloroflexi Chrysiogenetes Cyanobacteria Deferribacteres Deinococcus-Thermus Dictyoglomi Fibrobacteres/Acidobacteria Firmicutes Fusobacteria Gemmatimonadetes Nitrospirae Omnibacteria Planctomycetes Proteobacteria Spirochaetes Thermodesulfobacteria Thermomicrobia Thermotogae Bacteria (singular, bacterium) are a major group of living organisms. ... Jump to: navigation, search A cell wall is a more or less solid layer surrounding a cell. ... Jump to: navigation, search Figure 1 : Schematic drawing of a bacterium with plasmids enclosed. ... Jump to: navigation, search Cells in culture, stained for keratin (red) and DNA (green) The cell is the structural and functional unit of all living organisms, sometimes called the building blocks of life. ...

This procedure is also highly efficient for the introduction of foreign genes in tissue culture cells, especially mammalian cells, or similar. It is for instance used in the process of producing knockout mice, but more importantly, for the purpose of tumor treatment, gene therapy and cell-based therapy. This stylistic schematic diagram shows a gene in relation to the double helix structure of DNA and to a chromosome (right). ... Jump to: navigation, search Orders Subclass Multituberculata (extinct) Plagiaulacida Cimolodonta Subclass Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Subclass Triconodonta (extinct) Subclass Placentalia Afrosoricida Artiodactyla Carnivora Cetacea Chiroptera Creodonta (extinct) Dermoptera Desmostylia (extinct) Embrithopoda (extinct) Hyracoidea Insectivora Lagomorpha Litopterna (extinct) Macroscelidea Notoungulata (extinct) Perissodactyla Pholidota Primates Proboscidea Rodentia Scandentia Sirenia Tubulidentata Xenarthra Subclass Marsupialia Dasyuromorphia... A knockout mouse is a genetically engineered mouse one or more of whose genes have been made inoperable. ...