Eppendorf Eporator - Manual (Page 8)

Product description
Eppendorf Eporator®
English (EN)
8
2.3 Features
The Eporator is inserted for the electroporation. It contains a capacitor that is discharged
during electroporation using a resistor, thus generating an exponential discharge curve. A
voltage between 200 V and 2 500 V can be set. The exponential pulse generated by the
Eporator is transferred to a disposable electroporation cuvette that contains the biological
sample.
Unlike devices from other manufacturers, the Eporator features an integrated cuvette
carrier with cuvette holder.
The construction of the Eporator minimizes the risk of short circuits. This also applies in
the case of prohibited, high salt concentrations or maximum voltage. Even in the most
unlikely situation of an electric arc in the cuvette, no bacterial suspension can escape
from the cuvette and contaminate the device.
The Eporator is easy to operate. None of the device components require
user-maintenance.
The experimental electroporation data can be saved on a USB stick and evaluated on a
PC.
Application protocols for the electroporation of various bacteria and yeast strains can be
found on the Eppendorf home page www.eppendorf.com.
2.3.1 The principle of electroporation
With the electroporation method, macromolecules such as DNA can be placed in
electrocompetent bacteria or yeast strains. In the process, small-volume samples with
high resistance are exposed to pulses with very high electrical field strengths. The short,
high voltage pulses create temporary holes or pores in the cell membrane, through which
macromolecules, e.g. plasmid DNA, can diffuse into the cell. The holes close after removal
of the electrical field and a period of regeneration. The inserted plasmid DNA can then be
transcribed and replicated in the cell.
Unlike chemical transformation, electroporation is characterized by high transformation
efficiency and simple execution.
DNA and bacteria Electrical charge
200 V - 2 500 V;
approx. 5 ms DNA in bacteria