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Electroporative Gene Transfer

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Gene Therapy of Cancer

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology™ ((MIMB,volume 542))

Summary

Membrane electroporation (MEP) uses short high-voltage pulses to render cell membranes transiently porous and therewith permeable to otherwise impermeable substances. This technique was first described, in vitro, by Neumann in 1982 ( 1 ). In vivo, this method is restricted to solid tissues accessible to the electrodes used to apply the electric field pulses. Electroporation of cell tissue gains increasing importance especially in clinical applications such as electrochemotherapy (ECT) of, e.g., skin tumors, and for gene therapy ( 2, 3, 4 ). The various applications of MEP include, in addition to the direct functional transfer of genes (electrotransfection, electrogenetransfer) and drugs, the release of proteins, and the electrotransfer of ionic dyes into cells (5). But, nevertheless, the mechanism of pore opening and resealing as well as the transfer, especially of DNA, is not yet completely understood.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. PlasmidFactory GmbH & Co., KG, MeisenstraĂźe 96, 33607, Bielefeld

    Marco Schmeer

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  1. Marco Schmeer
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Correspondence to Marco Schmeer .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Molecular Medicine (MDC), Max Delbrück Center for, Robert-Rössle-Str. 10, Berlin, 13125, Germany

    Wolfgang Walther

  2. Molecular Medicine (MDC), Max Delbrück Center for, Robert-Rössle-Str. 10, Berlin, 13125, Germany

    Ulrike S. Stein

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© 2009 Humana Press, a part of Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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Schmeer, M. (2009). Electroporative Gene Transfer. In: Walther, W., Stein, U. (eds) Gene Therapy of Cancer. Methods in Molecular Biology™, vol 542. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-561-9_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-561-9_8

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-934115-85-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-59745-561-9

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