A mathematical model of cell death dynamics due to electroporation

Cell death is the key to the success of irreversible electroporation, a treatment method that can kill cancerous tissue or destroy dysfunctional heart tissue. Cell death during electroporation is not an all-or-nothing response, but takes place over several hours or even days, which is why it is referred to as dynamic cell death during electroporation. This dynamic is also reflected in the changes in membrane permeability that can be detected in both living and dead cells, i.e. in different cell populations. We also wanted to describe the populations and their membrane permeability dynamics using a mathematical model. The mathematical model is based on population dynamics and experimental data obtained with a flow cytometer and provides a good basis for the description of cell death dynamics during electroporation, but some improvements are still needed to obtain a complete picture of cell death during electroporation.