A technique in which electric pulses of intensity in kilovolts per centimeter and of microsecond-to-millisecond duration cause a temporary loss of the semipermeability of cell membranes, thus leading to ion leakage, escape of metabolites, and increased uptake by cells of drugs, molecular probes, and DNA. Some applications of electroporation include introduction of plasmids or foreign DNA into living cells for transfection, fusion of cells to prepare hybridomas, and insertion of proteins into cell membranes.