Predicting electroporation of cells in an inhomogeneous electric field based on mathematical modeling and experimental CHO-cell permeabilization to propidium iodide determination

• Electroporation of cells based on mathematical modeling was predicted.
• Cell density had the most significant effect on the electroporation.
• Electric field was modeled and transformed in fraction of cell electroporation.
• Different mathematical models of cell electroporation were compared and modeled.
• Their effect on predicted percentage of electroporation was evaluated.

High voltage electric pulses cause electroporation of the cell membrane. Consequently, flow of the molecules across the membrane increases. In our study we investigated possibility to predict the percentage of the electroporated cells in an inhomogeneous electric field on the basis of the experimental results obtained when cells were exposed to a homogeneous electric field. We compared and evaluated different mathematical models previously suggested by other authors for interpolation of the results (symmetric sigmoid, asymmetric sigmoid, hyperbolic tangent and Gompertz curve). We investigated the density of the cells and observed that it has the most significant effect on the electroporation of the cells while all four of the mathematical models yielded similar results. We were able to predict electroporation of cells exposed to an inhomogeneous electric field based on mathematical modeling and using mathematical formulations of electroporation probability obtained experimentally using exposure to the homogeneous field of the same density of cells. Models describing cell electroporation probability can be useful for development and presentation of treatment planning for electrochemotherapy and non-thermal irreversible electroporation.