Rapid and portable electrical lysis and electroporation device

The Issue: Cell lysis (rupture of cellular membranes) is one of the most critical step in accessing Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) for genetic analysis. Current cell lysis methods applied to DNA extraction is primarily chemical agent based. Such method is slow, laborious, and requires human intervention. To reduce these limitations, a high electric field based rapid electrical lysis method integrate-able on a portable micro-device was investigated.;Method: After review of recent scientific articles on electrical lysis and related phenomenon as electroporation, electrical lysis and electroporation were studied though development of three devices iteratively. Device designs, modelling, simulations, experiments and analysis results are presented in this thesis. A novel membrane pore model to represent dynamics of electroporation in the current electrical circuit cell model inside an electric field was also developed and presented.;Results: (1) The initial device demonstrated the cell lysis of non-invasive human cells with a high electric field, but required a high voltage supply (750 to 900 V). (2) The intermediate device produced limited success due to issues like fluidic encapsulation, bubble formation and cell confinement. (3) The final device demonstrated ability of cell lysis and release of DNA from nucleus of cell samples. (4) Cell lysis to release DNA required an electrical excitation of 20 V for 5 s duration. (5) Electroporation phenomenon was observed by applying pulses of 5 to 20 V magnitude and 10 mus to 100 ms durations. (6) The proposed pore model simulation results were validated by experimental results. (7) Electroporation quantification terms were defined and validated: (a) Degree of Electroporation, (b) Electroporation Fluid Exchange Parameter (EFEP).;Conclusions: We have demonstrated applicability of electrical lysis for DNA extraction from human cells. This research resulted a novel, small, rapid, portable, battery operable micro-device that is capable of performing both electrical lysis and electroporation effectively, as well as a pore model representing electroporation dynamics.;Purpose: To innovate a rapid and portable cell lysis device by applying electrical lysis method towards extraction of DNA from non-invasively collected human cells, and study relevant phenomena.