Electroporation

An electroporation system comprising:

• a well plate comprising:
• wells, each well comprising:
• an interior formed by first and second sidewalls and a floor;
• a first electrode adjacent the interior and which extends along an interior side surface of the first sidewall;
• and
• a second electrode adjacent the interior and which extends along an interior side surface of the second sidewall, and the second electrode being spaced from the first electrode by the floor, and the first electrode and the second electrode to apply an electrostatic field across the well;
• a well support to carry the well plate, the well support including at least one datum surface to contact the well plate to position each of the wells of the well plate;
• a plurality of reservoirs containing different fluids including a plurality of different types of cells;
• a cell dispenser coupled to the plurality of reservoirs and including a plurality of fluid jetting devices;
• at least one actuator operably coupled to the well plate and the cell dispenser;
• and
• a controller programmed to output control signals to:
• cause the at least one actuator to align each well and the cell dispenser based upon a position of the at least one datum surface and a position of the cell dispenser and to cause the cell dispenser to selectively dispense a different type of cell among the plurality of different types of cells from the plurality of reservoirs into each of the wells;
• and
• form an electrostatic field within each of the wells;
• wherein the actuator and the controller form part of a dispenser-well positioning system programmed to align each well of the wells and the cell dispenser such that the cell dispenser dispenses the cell into each well at a location spaced from the first electrode and the second electrode by a distance of at least 10 times a diameter of the cell.

An electroporation system comprising:

• a well plate comprising:
• wells, each well comprising:
• an interior formed by first and second sidewalls and a floor;
• a first electrode adjacent the interior and which extends along an interior side surface of the first sidewall;
• and
• a second electrode adjacent the interior and which extends along an interior side surface of the second sidewall, and the second electrode being spaced from the first electrode by the floor, and the first electrode and the second electrode to apply an electrostatic field across the well;
• a well support to carry the well plate, the well support including at least one datum surface to contact the well plate to position each of the wells of the well plate;
• a plurality of reservoirs containing different fluids including a plurality of different types of cells;
• a cell dispenser coupled to the plurality of reservoirs and including a plurality of fluid jetting devices;
• at least one actuator operably coupled to the well plate and the cell dispenser;
• and
• a controller programmed to output control signals to:
• cause the at least one actuator to align each well and the cell dispenser based upon a position of the at least one datum surface and a position of the cell dispenser and to cause the cell dispenser to selectively dispense a different type of cell among the plurality of different types of cells from the plurality of reservoirs into each of the wells;
• and
• form an electrostatic field within each of the wells;
• wherein the controller is programmed to:
• cause selective dispense of M different types of cells, N different types of transfection agents, and R different electroporation solutions to the wells, and form P different electrostatic fields, wherein the different fluids include the M different types of cells, the N different types of transfection agents, and the R different electroporation solution.

An electroporation system comprising:

• a well plate comprising:
• wells, each well comprising:
• an interior formed by first and second sidewalls and a floor;
• a first electrode adjacent the interior and which extends along an interior side surface of the first sidewall;
• and
• a second electrode adjacent the interior and which extends along an interior side surface of the second sidewall, and the second electrode being spaced from the first electrode by the floor, and the first electrode and the second electrode to apply an electrostatic field across the well;
• a well support to carry the well plate, the well support including at least one datum surface to contact the well plate to position each of the wells of the well plate;
• a plurality of reservoirs containing different fluids including a plurality of different types of cells;
• a cell dispenser coupled to the plurality of reservoirs and including a plurality of fluid jetting devices;
• at least one actuator operably coupled to the well plate and the cell dispenser;
• and
• a controller programmed to output control signals to:
• cause the at least one actuator to align each well and the cell dispenser based upon a position of the at least one datum surface and a position of the cell dispenser and to cause the cell dispenser to selectively dispense a different type of cell among the plurality of different types of cells from the plurality of reservoirs into each of the wells;
• and
• form an electrostatic field within each of the wells;
• wherein:
• the first electrode and the second electrode of each the wells respectively extend along the first and second sidewalls and out of each of the wells and along an exterior surface of a member of the well plate to provide electrical connections to a charging source;
• the different fluids include M different types of cells, N different types of transfection agents, and R different electroporation solutions;
• and
• the controller is programmed to:
• cause the selective dispense of the M different types of cells, selective dispense of the N different types of transfection agents and the R different electroporation solutions to the wells, and form P different electrostatic fields within the wells based on the M different types of cells;
• compare an agent transfection result for each of the wells;
• and
• identify an electrostatic field for future electroporation and transfection of a particular type of cell among the M different types of cells based upon the comparison.

An electroporation method to be performed in a well plate comprising wells, each well including an interior formed by first and second sidewalls and a floor, a first electrode adjacent the interior and which extends along an interior side surface of the first sidewall, and a second electrode adjacent the interior and spaced from the first electrode by the floor and which extends along an interior side surface of the second sidewall, the method comprising:

• dispensing cells into wells of the well plate by a dispenser including a plurality of fluid jetting devices coupled to a plurality of reservoirs containing different fluids and a dispenser-well positioning system, including a controller, that is programmed to position the dispenser relative to the well plate based upon a position of at least one datum surface of a well support that carries the well plate and a position of the dispenser, wherein the cells are dispensed into each well at a location spaced from the first electrode and the second electrode by a distance of at least 5 times the diameter of the cell;
• applying, by the first or second electrode, a different electrostatic field to each of the wells containing the cells;
• introducing, by the dispenser, an agent into each of the wells;
• comparing an agent transfection result for each of the wells;
• and
• identifying an electrostatic field for future electroporation and transfection of the agent based upon the comparison.