Theory and in vivo application of electroporative gene delivery

Efficient and safe methods for delivering exogenous genetic material into t issues must be developed before the clinical potential of gene therapy will be realized. Recently, in vivo electroporation has emerged as a leading te chnology for developing nonviral gene therapies and nucleic acid vaccines ( NAV). Electroporation (EP) involves the application of pulsed electric fiel ds to cells to enhance cell permeability, resulting in exogenous polynucleo tide transit across the cytoplasmic membrane. Similar pulsed electrical fie ld treatments are employed in a wide range of biotechnological processes in cluding in vitro EP, hybridoma production, development of transgenic animal s, and clinical electrochemotherapy. Electroporative gene delivery studies benefit from well-developed literature that may be used to guide experiment al design and interpretation. Both theory and experimental analysis predict that the critical parameters governing EP efficacy include cell size and f ield strength, duration, frequency, and total number of applied pulses. The se parameters must be optimized for each tissue in order to maximize gene d elivery white minimizing irreversible cell damage. By providing an overview of the theory and practice of electroporative gene transfer, this review i ntends to aid researchers that wish to employ the method for preclinical an d translational gene therapy, NAV, and functional genomic research.