{
  "abstract": "Electroporation (EP) is an established method for introducing biomolecules such as DNA into bacterial cells. Commercially available cuvette-based EP systems are expensive to use and limited to small sample volumes making them impractical for high-throughput applications. Furthermore, high electric fields are required in these systems which can promote electrolysis and Joule heating, thereby reducing cell viability. Herein, we report a scalable, low-cost technique called Microfluidic Continuous-Flow Electroporation in Paper (CEP) which takes advantage of the insulating nature of glass fiber paper and its micron-sized pores to amplify the electric field strength experienced by cells. The CEP device is fabricated by sealing glass fibers between PDMS membranes using a combination of corona plasma treatment and heat-pressing. Our results demonstrate that the CEP technique enables transformation of E. coli at lower applied electric field strengths with transformation efficiencies comparable to or higher than those of cuvette-based EP under the tested conditions. The continuous-flow format and lower required applied field provides a low-cost approach to bacterial electroporation while maintaining cell viability comparable to that of conventional cuvette-based EP.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "University of California, Berkeley"
  ],
  "article_type": "New results",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 3,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "B. Jaiswal"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "M. N. Islam"
    },
    {
      "name": "Z. Gagnon"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/faqt3mqnmyx40.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.64898/2026.10.19.760286",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.19.760286v1.full",
  "id": "faqt3mqnmyx40",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.19.760286v1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "biorxiv",
      "bioengineering"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "1305|Microbial Inactivation Methods"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223023062",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.19.760286v1.full.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-19",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/faqt3mqnmyx40.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:28:46Z",
      "native_id": "10.64898/2026.10.19.760286",
      "source": "biorxiv",
      "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.19.760286v2"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "biorxiv:bioengineering",
      "subfield": "systems-synthetic"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Paper-Based Microfluidic Continuous-Flow Electroporation (μCEP) for Bacterial Transformation through Pore-Scale Electric-Field Enhancement",
  "title_text": "Paper-Based Microfluidic Continuous-Flow Electroporation (μCEP) for Bacterial Transformation through Pore-Scale Electric-Field Enhancement",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-04T00:21:19Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/faqt3mqnmyx40",
  "venue": "bioRxiv",
  "versions": []
}