Numerical analyses of electroporation-mediated doxorubicin uptake in eukaryotic cells: role of membrane cholesterol content

Abstract

Electroporation or electropermeabilization is a biophysical process involving enhanced permeability of biological cell membrane due to the application of an electric field of very short duration. Since its inception in the early 1970’s, the technique has been utilized widely in biomedical research and applications including gene transfection and electrochemotherapy of cancer. Past theoretical models of cell electroporation considered approximations which made the predicted results very different from the experimental descriptions of poration, especially for electrochemotherapy applications. Present work is a theoretical formulation and numerical implementation of small molecule (Doxorubicin) uptake during electroporation of a mammalian cell with cholesterol-containing membrane. Here, we explore the effects of changes in membrane cholesterol content on electroporation pore dynamics and uptake of small molecules.