Date of Award

Fall 2003

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Electrical & Computer Engineering

Program/Concentration

Computer Engineering

Committee Director

Ravindra P. Joshi

Committee Member

Linda L. Vahala

Committee Member

Vijayan Asari

Call Number for Print

Special Collections LD4331.E55 G66 2003

Abstract

The purpose of the present research work is to analyze the flow of ions through pores formed in the plasma membrane of biological cells during electroporation. In this regard, simulations have been conducted to track the movement of ions in 3-D space based on a Brownian dynamics model, which is mostly deterministic but has some stochastic properties to account for ionic scattering. From the Brownian dynamics simulations, it has been possible to estimate the pore's conductance as well as transport parameters such as the diffusion coefficient and mobility within the pore region, of which there is no experimental data currently available. Knowledge of these values is certainly of importance for electric-field aided drug delivery and molecular injection into cells. Predictions yielded by the simulations could be used for future theory and experiment, the outcomes of which could in turn be utilized to refine the model. Once the underlying ionic transport process is fully understood, it will become possible to design electrical pulses and tailor waveforms for maximizing the throughput of DNA, drugs, and gene materials.

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In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

DOI

10.25776/zy75-sh62

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