Question

What is meant by electroporation? Mention its uses.

Answer 1

Electroporation can be defined as the process of increasing the permeability of the cell membrane by the application of an electric field because the cell membrane is otherwise selectively permeable. It is used in the following:

1. In rDNA technology to allow the insertion of the foreign DNA in the host cell.
2. In gene therapy techniques to insert the normal copy of gene in the affected cells.
3. To insert some chemical or drug in the cell.