Electroporation Biodistribution and Toxicity – brief electric pulses induce permeability of tissues to RNA, DNA, and proteins, but also can be associated with tissue damage. Many electroporation parameters cause minimal muscle tissue damage, however high levels of transfection efficiency require electric field that may cause cytotoxic effects, leading to cell necrosis and decreased gene expression.
Histology studies post-electroporation confirm that muscle damage is maximum within the first 7 days. Collateral damage by electroporation method can be significant, compared with other physical methods. It is known that transfection efficiency substantially decreases once the optimal field strength is exceeded, because of excessive cell death.
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