Micro flow-through electroporation devices and methods of cell transfection

1. A method of electroporating cells with a cargo, comprising the steps of:

flowing the cells with the cargo into an electroporation chamber, wherein the electroporation chamber comprises:

an upper electrode;

a lower electrode; and

a path defined between the upper electrode and the lower electrode for the cells and the cargo to flow,

wherein the upper electrode and the lower electrode each have a porosity,

wherein the upper electrode is bound by a first material, the first material comprising a first input allowing passage of cells into the electroporation chamber,

wherein the lower electrode is bound by a second material, the second material comprising a first output allowing passage of electroporated cells from the electroporation chamber,

wherein the upper electrode porosity allows the passage of the cells and the cargo from the first input through the upper electrode into the electroporation chamber and/or the lower electrode porosity allows passage of the electroporated cells through the lower electrode and the first output from the electroporation chamber,

wherein the first input and the first output are separated by an offset distance, and

wherein the cells are suspended in an electroporation medium; and

pulsing an electrical current between the upper electrode and the lower electrode to create an electric field while the cells and the cargo flow along the path defined between the upper electrode and the lower electrode and the electroporated cells flow toward the first output;

wherein the cells and the cargo flow through the first input in a first direction, the cells and the cargo flow laterally along the length of the electroporation chamber in a direction perpendicular to the first direction, and the electroporated cells flow through the first output in a second direction parallel to the first direction.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of flowing is performed in a stepwise manner, wherein a fluid volume of about half a total volume of the electroporation chamber is pumped into the electroporation chamber at a designated interval of time.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the offset distance is 2 mm or greater.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein a width of the electroporation chamber is about 0.01 mm to about 2 mm.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the upper electrode further comprises a second input to allow passage of the cells and the cargo into the electroporation chamber, and/or the lower electrode further comprises a second output to allow passage of the electroporated cells from the electroporation chamber.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the path is linear, curved, branched, or a combination thereof.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the path is horizontal with respect to the upper electrode and the lower electrode.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cells are exposed to a uniform or a substantially uniform electrical field within the electroporation chamber.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising applying multiple electrical pulses to the cells within the electroporation chamber, wherein each electrical pulse is the same or different.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the multiple electrical pulses are applied at a field strength of about 0.3 kV/cm to about 3 kV/cm.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein one or more of the following occurs:

(a) each electrical pulse has a form of an exponentially discharging waveform or a square waveform;

(b) a time interval between each electrical pulse is about 0.5 seconds to about 15 seconds;

(c) a duration of each electrical pulse is about 0.1 seconds to about 5 seconds;

(d) a time constant is from about 10 msec to about 30 msec;

(e) the electrical pulses are delivered from a capacitor having a capacitance from about 5 μF to about 75 μF; and

(f) a field strength is applied at a voltage of about 40V.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the electroporation medium has a conductance of 0.05 mS/m to about 0.2 S/m and an osmolarity of about 0.05 osm/l to about 0.2 osm/l.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cells are mammalian cells or nonmammalian cells.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the mammalian cells are selected from the group consisting of NK cells, EC-7 cells, T cells, embryonic cells, stem cells, epithelial cells, lymphocytes, macrophages, gamete cells, and fibroblasts.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein the nonmammalian cells are bacteria cells or yeast cells.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cargo is a nucleic acid.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the nucleic acid is an RNA or a DNA.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the electroporated cells are haNK cells with a viability of at least 70% and an electroporation efficiency of at least 80%.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the electroporated cells are EC-7 cells with a viability of at least 50% and an electroporation efficiency of at least 90%.

20. The method of claim 1 , further comprising a first cell sorting step for sorting the cells prior to introduction into the electroporation chamber comprising:

applying pressure to cause a first solution comprising the cells to flow through a microfluidics chamber, wherein the microfluidics chamber comprises a plurality of rows of posts, wherein each row comprises a plurality of posts distributed along a line oriented in a diagonal manner with respect to the microfluidics chamber; and

deflecting the cells to a side of the chamber by the rows of posts to deplete cells from the solution exiting a first output mechanism and enrich cells in the solution exiting a second output mechanism, wherein the cells exiting the second output mechanism are introduced into the electroporation chamber with the cargo.

21. The method of claim 20 , further comprising a second cell sorting step for sorting the electroporated cells after exiting the electroporation chamber comprising:

applying pressure to cause a fourth solution comprising the electroporated cells to flow through a microfluidics chamber, wherein the microfluidics chamber comprises a plurality of rows of posts, wherein each row comprises a plurality of posts distributed along a line oriented in a diagonal manner with respect to the microfluidics chamber; and

deflecting the electroporated cells to a side of the chamber by the rows of posts to deplete electroporated cells from the solution exiting a third output mechanism and enrich electroporated cells in the solution exiting a fourth output mechanism.

22. The method of claim 1 , wherein both the upper electrode porosity allows the passage of the cells and the cargo from the first input through the upper electrode into the electroporation chamber and the lower electrode porosity allows passage of the electroporated cells through the lower electrode and the first output from the electroporation chamber.