Star-shaped nanoparticles will change the fate of patients struggling for life

Moscow, February 21: Researchers from the Russian Academy of Sciences developed a new method for star-shaped nanoparticles synthesis based on laser irradiation. This will change the fate of gene therapy, targeted drug application.

A wide range of customizable conditions provides an opportunity to create a comfortable environment for various substances delivery to different types of cells. The results are published in the Journal of Biophotonics. The research was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (RNF).

What is the delivery of molecules into the cell?

Any natural normal cell doesn’t allow any outside particle to enter easily. A damaged cell which requires repair has to have a dose of a drug to get back to normal. So these nanoparticles have created in such a way that they get incorporated into the cell easily and more effectively. This mechanism will be used to cure diseases and genetic disorder. A hereditary disorder can be muted to avoid any disability.

For creating an efficient entry mechanism they have used technology for electroporation, ultrasound and laser irradiation. Targeted therapy effectively work.

A major barrier to drug and gene delivery is crossing the cell's plasma membrane. Physical forces applied to cells via electroporation, ultrasound and laser irradiation generate nanoscale holes in the plasma membrane for direct delivery of drugs into the cytoplasm.

The developed method is simpler and cheaper than traditional commercial systems for the delivery of molecules into the cell. The advantages can also include the absence of direct contact of target substances and cells with nanoparticles, which reduces the likelihood of damage to cells and delivered substances/ Moreover, the spiked surface of nano-stars creates comfortable conditions for cell growth and adhesion (cell attachment to each other and to the surface). This makes the method applicable to delivering a wide range of molecules to different cells.

"We have developed and optimized a new platform for creating pores in cells based on monolayers of gold nano-stars using continuous laser radiation. Using this method, it is possible to produce highly efficient intracellular delivery of various substances in delicate conditions. We assume that methods using such nanoparticles can be an alternative to existing technologies of intracellular delivery of biomolecules for use in gene therapy, targeted drug application, obtaining modified cell cultures and other biomedical research," explains Timofey Pylaev, one of the authors of the study from Russian Academy of Sciences.

The authors of the new study developed a new delivery method using gold nano-stars: star-shaped nanoparticles with sharp spikes. The researchers obtained them by reducing gold ions on spherical embryos of the same metal. After that, the nano-stars were deposited in the form of single layers on the plastic surface and covered with cells. Laser irradiation caused electromagnetic waves to travel on the nanoparticles surface, thus transporting substances into the cell.

Scientists used pGFP (circular DNA with a gene encoding a fluorescent protein), reporter protein which enters into the cells and reports whether having rightly passed into the cells, to test the effectiveness of the developed method. They aimed at delivering this molecule into HeLa cells: human cervical cancer lines. This combination of model cells and the delivered object was chosen due to the frequent use of HeLa cells in clinical and biochemical studies, as well as easy testing since cells to which pGFP was successfully delivered are glowing