Individual Final Project: BioVolt - DIY Electroporation Device

Project Overview: BioVolt - DIY Electroporation Device & Full Transformation Pipeline

Biological engineering application/tool to develop:
BioVolt is a portable, ultra-low-cost DIY electroporation device (~$10-20 in parts) that uses a piezoelectric crystal from a barbecue lighter to generate ~2,000 V pulses for temporary cell membrane permeabilization. This enables DNA/RNA uptake in bacteria (e.g., E. coli), yeast, plant protoplasts, or even stem cells for genetic transformation. Inspired by the DEFCON 32 talk “You got a lighter I need to do some Electroporation” (presented by Dr. James Utley (Me), Phil Rhodes, and Josh Hill from Viva Securus/Syndicate Laboratories), it builds on frugal biohacking principles: piezoelectric trigger pulsing, custom microfluidic cuvettes from aluminum tape/magnets/glass slides, and simple high-voltage testing.

DEFCON 32 Presentation — Where It Started for me

At DEFCON 32 the talk I presented focused on the device itself — proving that a barbecue lighter’s piezoelectric crystal could generate sufficient voltage to temporarily permeabilize cell membranes for DNA uptake. The talk covered design details, demos, troubleshooting (e.g., arc gap tuning with Post-it notes), and the biohacking ethos behind building a ~$10 electroporator.

Key highlights from the talk: ~2,000 V pulses via lighter clicks, high cell mortality (50-70%) but viable transformants, GFP reporter demos, open protocols encouraged.

Next Phase: End-to-End Pipeline with Efficiency Focus

The next phase of BioVolt moves beyond the device and brings the entire workflow end to end, with a focus on efficiency and frugal validation. The goal: take a piezoelectric electroporator built from a barbecue lighter and prove — through a full pipeline — that it actually works. The pipeline includes:

  1. Plasmid amplification via thermal cycling — Before electroporation, the initial plasmid source will be amplified using the MJ Research PTC-100 thermal cycler (Peltier-effect programmable controller) available in the lab. This ensures sufficient plasmid DNA concentration for transformation.

  2. DNA concentration measurement — Using the Rodeo open colorimeter (visible light version for OD600 cell density measurements) and, if possible, the UV version for DNA concentration quantification. This provides pre- and post-transformation metrics.

  3. Electroporation — Transformation of cells with the amplified plasmid DNA using the BioVolt piezoelectric device, followed by recovery and plating.

  4. Post-transformation PCR verification — For good measure, PCR will be run after transformation using the same thermal cycler to check whether the insert is present in the recovered cells. This triangulates and correlates with plating results to provide a hasty “close enough” frugal validation.

  5. Gel electrophoresis confirmation — Agarose gel electrophoresis to visualise PCR products and verify successful transformation (e.g., presence of reporter genes like GFP via band patterns under UV).

The aim is to triangulate multiple data points — plasmid amplification, colorimetric/UV measurement, transformation plating, and post-transformation PCR — to build confidence that the piezo electroporator from a lighter actually delivers. Fingers crossed, this provides a credible, frugal, end-to-end validation of a DIY electroporation workflow.

This democratizes synthetic biology for education, citizen science, and personal biohacking in resource-limited settings.

Lab Setup & Tools in Action

My biohacker lab at Syndicate Laboratories integrates the device with the full verification pipeline.

Project Timeline & Milestones

This section will be updated throughout the semester as the project progresses.

Completed Milestones

  • DEFCON 32 presentation and initial device concept
  • Basic proof-of-concept: piezoelectric voltage generation
  • Initial transformation experiments with GFP reporter

Current Phase (Week 1-4)

  • Acquire and test MJ Research PTC-100 thermal cycler
  • Optimize plasmid amplification protocols
  • Set up Rodeo colorimeter for OD600 measurements
  • Source UV colorimeter module for DNA quantification

Future Milestones

  • Complete end-to-end pipeline testing
  • Document reproducibility across multiple transformation attempts
  • Optimize efficiency and reduce cell mortality
  • Create comprehensive open-source protocol documentation
  • Final presentation and demonstration

Documentation & Resources

Project documentation will be added here as the project develops throughout the semester.

  • Week 1 homework includes initial governance assessment
  • Future updates will include protocols, data, images, and results
  • Final documentation will include complete build instructions and validation data

Project Status: In Progress (Week 1)
Location: Syndicate Laboratories, Panama City, Panama
Researcher: James Utley, PhD