A side project in our lab has been the modification of a 3D printer to serve as an automated pulsed electric field delivery system. To do this, the printer’s extruder was replaced with a 3D-printed electrode support system. The electrodes within this support system are then easily replaced to cater to project needs.
The electrode placement is interactively controlled via a free and open-source software Pronterface. This software controls the printer manually or by following a pre-saved G-code that delivers the electrode set-up to each well in a cell-culture plate.
Helpful links:
Thingiverse (free print designs) – http://www.thingiverse.com/
Ultimaker Cura (Open source 3D printer Slicing Software) – https://ultimaker.com/software/ultimaker-cura