A new platform for culture and electroporation of 3D cell constructs based on a porous scaffold
Résumé
Electroporation (EPN) is a method for introducing molecules into cells based on the application of pulsed electric fields. It opens new perspectives for cancer treatment by electrochemotherapy and electro-gene therapy. The study of EPN effects on in vitro 3D tumor models could benefit from the development of new tools providing easiness of use, high throughput and results reproducibility.
In the literature, the proposed approaches consist in fabricating the spheroids using droplet-based microfluidics1 or hanging drop methods2 and then introduce them in an electroporation cuvette connected to a pulse generator. Thus, it involves several handling steps, which can potentially damage spheroids.
We present a new platform enabling culture of spheroids of similar size and shape, easy introduction of fluid and subsequent electroporation inside a unique device integrating a porous hydrogel scaffold.