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DIMOVA LAB

Biomembranes and more

Our interest toward understanding the response of membrane to electric fields is motivated by both applications and mechanistic aspects. External electric fields, whether weak alternating (AC) fields or strong direct current (DC) pulses, have emerged as a powerful method for cell manipulation in biomedical and biotechnological applications such as tissue ablation, wound healing, and cancer treatment. Strong electric fields can cause electroporation, which can be employed for introducing various molecules in the cell, to which the membrane is otherwise impermeable. In our group, we have addressed a number of problems: Strong DC pulses can be used to create microscopic pores in giant vesicles [read more], deform them into spherocylinders [read more] or fuse them [read more] to transform them into microreactors [read more]. When applied to gel-phase vesicles, DC pulses create cracks [read more] while charges fluid vesicles may collapse [read more]. AC fields can cause lipid flows [read more] and deform vesicles [read more], which we used to develop a way to measure the membrane capacitance [read more].

For a summary, check the following reviews and book chapter:

Membrane Electroporation in High Electric Fields, R. Dimova, in Advances in Electrochemical Science and Engineering: Bioelectrochemistry, edited by  R. C. Alkire, D. M. Kolb, J. Lipkowski,  Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, Editon edn., vol. 13, pp. 335-367 (2011) DOI: 10.1002/9783527644117.ch7

Vesicles in electric fields: Some novel aspects of membrane behavior, R. Dimova, N. Bezlyepkina, M. D. Jordö, R. L. Knorr, K. A. Riske, M. Staykova, P. M. Vlahovska, T. Yamamoto, P. Yang, and R. Lipowsky, Soft Matter, 5, 3201-3212 (2009) DOI: 10.1039/B901963D [Full text]

Giant vesicles in electric fields, R. Dimova, K. A. Riske, S. Aranda, N. Bezlyepkina, R. L. Knorr  and R. Lipowsky, Soft Matter, 3, 817-927 (2007) DOI: 10.1039/B703580B [Full text]

Vesicles in electric fields

DC pulses can porate and deform vesicles into spherocylinders


Gel-phase vesicles can wrinkle or exhibit cracks after being exposed to strong DC pulses

[read more]

Charged vesicles can collapse into tubular structures after poration

[read more]

For theoretical description of vesicle deformation in AC fields: energy and hydrodynamic approach)

Electro-fusion to create vesicles with domains

Last modified: 13-Nov-20 12:36:29 PM

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