Theory of Electroporation

The electroporation process leads to a membrane state which is characterized by pores and is associated with large transmembrane potentials. The dramatic phenomena attributed to electroporation include rupture, reversible electrical breakdown, the transient high-permeability state, and electrical fusion. All are associated with transmembrane potentials significantly larger than cellular resting potentials. Generally, a theory of electroporation should provide a unified, quantitative description of many experimental observations and be capable of predicting new behavior. In addition to describing the behavior of pore size and number, a theory should also include specific mechanisms for membrane charging by external sources, and specific internal mechanisms for membrane discharging, such as ionic conduction through pores under particular conditions. Further, a theory should yield specific quantitative predictions of experimentally measured behavior, so that comparisons between theory and experiment can be readily made. We first outline essential features of the dramatic phenomena, and then describe basic features of a quantitative theory based on transient aqueous pores. Throughout we use the notation U(t) for the instantaneous transmembrane potential, R(t) for the instantaneous membrane resistance, and P d, m(t) for the instantaneous diffusive permeability of the membrane.

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