Design considerations for electroporation reactors

An electroporation reactor comprises a treatment area for the application of pulsed electric fields to biological tissue. A homogeneous opening of cells within the whole treatment area can be achieved by applying a homogeneously distributed electric field of sufficient field strength and also sufficient total energy to the tissue. However, such an ideal homogeneous electric field can be achieved in a closed volume only. Inlet and outlet of an electroporation reactor designed for a continuous flow of material involve inhomogeneities of the electric field. Such inhomogeneities cause additional losses due to current flowing also in low-field regions, which are ineffective for electroporation. Depending on the design of the electrode system also the electric field in the center of the electroporation area might be to some extend inhomogeneous. So the specific energy required for the treatment of a defined volume of material depends on the electrode design. When comparing this specific energy to the specific energy required in the ideal case of a treatment area with a homogeneous field, a factor describing the energy efficiency of the electrode design can be defined. The paper describes this approach in more detail.