Experimental and theoretical Brownian Dynamics analysis of Ion transport during cellular electroporation of E. coli bacteria

Abstract

Abstract The motion of ions through pores formed in the inner and outer plasma membranes of Escherichia coli cells during electroporation is simulated in 3-D space using a Brownian dynamics model, which is mostly deterministic following Newtonian mechanics, but has some stochastic properties to account for elastic ionic scattering in water. The pore’s conductance, diffusion coefficient, mobility and translation time of Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+ and Cl− ions are estimated from the numerical model and validated with experiments conducted at the Gustave Roussy. The results from this work provide a better understanding of the electroporation process, aiding in the design of electrical pulses and waveforms for maximizing the throughput of DNA, drugs and gene materials into cells, primarily for application in cancer treatment.