University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Tržaška 25, SI-1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Sci Rep. 2017 Aug 14;7(1):8115. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-08620-8.
In biotechnology, medicine, and food processing, simple and reliable methods for cell membrane permeabilization are required for drug/gene delivery into the cells or for the inactivation of undesired microorganisms. Pulsed electric field treatment is among the most promising methods enabling both aims. The drawback in current technology is controllable large volume operation. To address this challenge, we have developed an experimental setup for flow through electroporation with online regulation of the flow rate with feedback control. We have designed a modular serial flow-through co-linear chamber with a smooth inner surface, the uniform cross-section geometry through the majority of the system's length, and the mesh in contact with the electrodes, which provides uniform electric field distribution and fluid velocity equilibration. The cylindrical cross-section of the chamber prevents arching at the active treatment region. We used mathematical modeling for the evaluation of electric field distribution and the flow profile in the active region. The system was tested for the inactivation of Escherichia coli. We compared two flow-through chambers and used a static chamber as a reference. The experiments were performed under identical experimental condition (product and similar process parameters). The data were analyzed in terms of inactivation efficiency and specific energy consumption.
在生物技术、医学和食品加工领域，需要简单可靠的细胞膜渗透方法，以便将药物/基因递送到细胞内，或灭活不需要的微生物。脉冲电场处理是最有前途的方法之一，能够同时实现这两个目标。目前技术的缺点是可控制的大容量操作。为了解决这一挑战，我们开发了一种用于流经式电穿孔的实验装置，可在线反馈控制调节流速。我们设计了一种具有光滑内表面的模块化串联式流经共线性室，其横截面几何形状在系统的大部分长度上保持均匀，并与电极接触的网格，这提供了均匀的电场分布和流体速度均衡。腔室的圆柱形横截面可防止在活性处理区域产生电弧。我们使用数学建模来评估活性区域的电场分布和流动情况。该系统已用于大肠杆菌的灭活测试。我们比较了两种流经式腔室，并使用静态腔室作为参考。在相同的实验条件（产品和类似的工艺参数）下进行了实验。根据灭活效率和比能消耗对数据进行了分析。
