OpenPore: A low-cost, portable, battery-powered exponential decay pulse generator for electroporation

The OpenPore pulse generator is a battery powered, portable exponential decay pulse generator for performing mammalian cell electroporation. Electroporation is a common technique for transporting molecular cargo such as plasmid DNA through cell membranes. The system achieves this by providing a 0-330 V range with manual charge, pulse, and safe discharge controls as well as digital display indicating the stored voltage level. This is powered by two batteries (9 V and 1.5 V) allowing for a compact, lightweight system which can be implemented in a variety of settings based on experimental demands. When used in conjunction with a 0.4 cm commercial electroporation cuvette, transfection efficiencies comparable to commercially available systems are achieved.