Figure 2.

Stages of electroporation. Short but intense electric fields (induced V _m≈0.5 V) force water molecules to penetrate and disrupt the lipid bilayer in the cell membrane leading to unstable hydrophobic pore formation (stage 1). The hydrophilic heads of the lipids begin to reorientate to form a metastable pore of ≈2 nm wide allowing small molecules to enter the cell (stage 2). Depending on the strength and duration of the applied field, modulation of ion channels/transporters have been reported. When the field strength is very intense (V _m ≥ 1 V), the cell membrane breaks down due to lack of homeostasis and several cell death pathways have been suggested including pyroptosis, necrosis and apoptosis. Created with BioRender.com