Analysis of the Electroporated Volume in Skeletal Muscle of a Murine Model for the Transfection Process

In vivo electrotransfection (ECT) increases the efficiency of plasmid DNA incorporation into myocytes, ECT enables the stable integration of DNA into the cell genome, allowing for the temporary expression of proteins. In this study, an approach to real anatomical modeling is presented, necessary to plan a highly efficient and safe process for the animal model used. The distribution of the electric field, in a volume corresponding to the skeletal muscle to be transfected, is analyzed by applying electric potentials varying between 80 V and 130 V through two plate electrodes. The results obtained by the Finite Element Method (FEM) analysis suggest that, for skeletal muscle in the murine model, the electric potential applied between the electrodes should not exceed 105 V, to avoid significant tissue damage and control the specific transfection regions.