1
|
Ekstrand F, Mapar M, Ruhrmann S, Bacos K, Ling C, Prinz CN. Achieving efficient clonal beta cells transfection using nanostraw/nanopore-assisted electroporation. RSC Adv 2024; 14:22244-22252. [PMID: 39010923 PMCID: PMC11247384 DOI: 10.1039/d4ra02791d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2024] [Accepted: 07/08/2024] [Indexed: 07/17/2024] Open
Abstract
The prospect of being able to efficiently inject large plasmids in insulin-producing beta cells is very attractive for diabetes research. However, conventional transfection methods suffer from high cytotoxicity or low transfection efficiency, which negatively affect their outcome. In contrast, nanostraw electroporation is a gentle method that can provide a high transfection efficiency while maintaining high cell viability. While nanostraw electroporation has gone through some method optimization in the past, such as tuning the pulse frequency, amplitude, and duration, the effect of other parameters has not been thoroughly investigated. Here, we demonstrate efficient transfection of clonal beta cells and investigate the effect of voltage at a fixed inter-electrode distance, cell density, and cargo solution conductivity on transfection efficiency. We used GFP-encoding DNA plasmids stained with an intercalating dye to enable immediate analysis and assessment of the electrophoretic transport of cargo. Moreover, we ran simulations to assess how cargo buffer conductivity impacts the transfection efficiency by affecting the voltage drop on the nanostraws and cell membrane during electroporation. Both experiments and simulations show that MilliQ water as the cargo buffer yields the best transfection efficiency. We also show that the cell density should be adjusted to maximize the number of cells interfacing the nanostraws and avoid cell stacking. Finally, we compared the transfection efficiency when using nanostraws and nanopores. Whereas the amount of GFP plasmids injected using nanostraws is larger than for nanopores, the outcome in terms of GFP fluorescence 48 h after transfection was worse than for nanopores. Moreover, when using nanostraws, fewer cells were found on the substrate 48 h after transfection compared to when using nanopores. This suggests that injecting substantial amounts of plasmids in cells can affect their proliferation and/or viability, and that nanopore electroporation, as a simpler method, is an interesting alternative to nanostraws in achieving efficient and gentle clonal beta cell transfection.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Frida Ekstrand
- Division of Solid State Physics, NanoLund, Lund University 221 00 Lund Sweden
| | - Mokhtar Mapar
- Division of Solid State Physics, NanoLund, Lund University 221 00 Lund Sweden
| | - Sabrina Ruhrmann
- Epigenetics and Diabetes Unit, Lund University Diabetes Centre, Department of Clinical Sciences, Scania University Hospital 214 28 Malmö Sweden
| | - Karl Bacos
- Epigenetics and Diabetes Unit, Lund University Diabetes Centre, Department of Clinical Sciences, Scania University Hospital 214 28 Malmö Sweden
| | - Charlotte Ling
- Epigenetics and Diabetes Unit, Lund University Diabetes Centre, Department of Clinical Sciences, Scania University Hospital 214 28 Malmö Sweden
| | - Christelle N Prinz
- Division of Solid State Physics, NanoLund, Lund University 221 00 Lund Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
da Silva Arouche T, Lobato JCM, Dos Santos Borges R, de Oliveira MS, de Jesus Chaves Neto AM. Molecular interactions of the Omicron, Kappa, and Delta SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins with quantum dots of graphene oxide. J Mol Model 2024; 30:203. [PMID: 38858279 DOI: 10.1007/s00894-024-05996-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2024] [Accepted: 05/27/2024] [Indexed: 06/12/2024]
Abstract
CONTEXT The Omicron, Kappa, and Delta variants are different strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Graphene oxide quantum dots (GOQDs) represent a burgeoning class of oxygen-enriched, zero-dimensional materials characterized by their sub-20-nm dimensions. Exhibiting pronounced quantum confinement and edge effects, GOQDs manifest exceptional physical-chemical attributes. This study delves into the potential of graphene oxide quantum dots, elucidating their inherent properties pertinent to the surface structures of SARS-CoV-2, employing an integrated computational approach for the repositioning of inhibitory agents. METHODS Following rigorous adjustment tests, a spectrum of divergent bonding conformations emerged, with particular emphasis placed on identifying the conformation exhibiting optimal adjustment scores and interactions. The investigation employed molecular docking simulations integrating affinity energy evaluations, electrostatic potential clouds, molecular dynamics encompassing average square root calculations, and the computation of Gibbs-free energy. These values quantify the strength of interaction between GOQDs and SARS-CoV-2 spike protein variants. The receptor structures were optimized using the CHARM-GUI server employing force field AMBERFF14SB. The algorithm embedded in CHARMM offers an efficient interpolation scheme and automatic step size selection, enhancing the efficiency of the optimization process. The 3D structures of the ligands are constructed and optimized with density functional theory (DFT) method based on the most stable conformer of each binder. Autodock Vina Software (ADV) was utilized, where essential parameters were specified. Electrostatic potential maps (MEPs) provide a visual depiction of molecules' charge distributions and related properties. After this, molecular dynamics simulations employing the CHARM36 force field in Gromacs 2022.2 were conducted to investigate GOs' interactions with surface macromolecules of SARS-CoV-2 in an explicit aqueous environment. Furthermore, our investigation suggests that lower values indicate stronger binding. Notably, GO-E consistently showed the most negative values across interactions with different variants, suggesting a higher affinity compared to other GOQDs (GO-A to GO-D).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tiago da Silva Arouche
- Laboratory of Preparation and Computing of Nanomaterials (LPCN), Federal University of Pará, C. P. 479, Belém, PA, 66075-110, Brazil
| | - Julio Cesar Mendes Lobato
- Laboratory of Preparation and Computing of Nanomaterials (LPCN), Federal University of Pará, C. P. 479, Belém, PA, 66075-110, Brazil
- Graduate Program in Natural Resources Engineering of the Amazon, ITEC, Federal University of Pará, C. P. 2626, Belém, PA, 66050-540, Brazil
| | - Rosivaldo Dos Santos Borges
- Universidade Federal do Pará, Departamento de Farmácia/Laboratório de Química Farmacêutica, Belem, PA, 66075-110, Brazil
| | | | - Antonio Maia de Jesus Chaves Neto
- Laboratory of Preparation and Computing of Nanomaterials (LPCN), Federal University of Pará, C. P. 479, Belém, PA, 66075-110, Brazil.
- Graduate Program in Natural Resources Engineering of the Amazon, ITEC, Federal University of Pará, C. P. 2626, Belém, PA, 66050-540, Brazil.
- Graduate Program in Chemical Engineering, ITEC, Federal University of Pará, C. P. 479, Belém, PA, 66075-900, Brazil.
- Mestrado Nacional Profissional em Ensino de Física, Federal University of Pará, C. P.479, Belém, PA, 66075-110, Brazil.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Liu F, Su R, Jiang X, Wang S, Mu W, Chang L. Advanced micro/nano-electroporation for gene therapy: recent advances and future outlook. NANOSCALE 2024; 16:10500-10521. [PMID: 38757536 DOI: 10.1039/d4nr01408a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
Gene therapy is a promising disease treatment approach by editing target genes, and thus plays a fundamental role in precision medicine. To ensure gene therapy efficacy, the effective delivery of therapeutic genes into specific cells is a key challenge. Electroporation utilizes short electric pulses to physically break the cell membrane barrier, allowing gene transfer into the cells. It dodges the off-target risks associated with viral vectors, and also stands out from other physical-based gene delivery methods with its high-throughput and cargo-accelerating features. In recent years, with the help of advanced micro/nanotechnology, micro/nanostructure-integrated electroporation (micro/nano-electroporation) techniques and devices have significantly improved cell viability, transfection efficiency and dose controllability of the electroporation strategy, enhancing its application practicality especially in vivo. This technical advancement makes micro/nano-electroporation an effective and versatile tool for gene therapy. In this review, we first introduce the evolution of electroporation technique with a brief explanation of the perforation mechanism, and then provide an overview of the recent advancements and prospects of micro/nano-electroporation technology in the field of gene therapy. To comprehensively showcase the latest developments of micro/nano-electroporation technology in gene therapy, we focus on discussing micro/nano-electroporation devices and current applications at both in vitro and in vivo levels. Additionally, we outline the ongoing clinical studies of gene electrotransfer (GET), revealing the tremendous potential of electroporation-based gene delivery in disease treatment and healthcare. Lastly, the challenges and future directions in this field are discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Feng Liu
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Rongtai Su
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Xinran Jiang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Siqi Wang
- Department of General Surgery and Obesity and Metabolic Disease Center, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, 100029, China
| | - Wei Mu
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China
- School of Engineering Medicine, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China
- Key Laboratory of Big Data-Based Precision Medicine (Beihang University), Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Lingqian Chang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Dong Z, Wang Y, Xu G, Liu B, Wang Y, Reboud J, Jajesniak P, Yan S, Ma P, Liu F, Zhou Y, Jin Z, Yang K, Huang Z, Zhuo M, Jia B, Fang J, Zhang P, Wu N, Yang M, Cooper JM, Chang L. Genetic and phenotypic profiling of single living circulating tumor cells from patients with microfluidics. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2315168121. [PMID: 38683997 PMCID: PMC11087790 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2315168121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2023] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Accurate prediction of the efficacy of immunotherapy for cancer patients through the characterization of both genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity in individual patient cells holds great promise in informing targeted treatments, and ultimately in improving care pathways and clinical outcomes. Here, we describe the nanoplatform for interrogating living cell host-gene and (micro-)environment (NICHE) relationships, that integrates micro- and nanofluidics to enable highly efficient capture of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from blood samples. The platform uses a unique nanopore-enhanced electrodelivery system that efficiently and rapidly integrates stable multichannel fluorescence probes into living CTCs for in situ quantification of target gene expression, while on-chip coculturing of CTCs with immune cells allows for the real-time correlative quantification of their phenotypic heterogeneities in response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI). The NICHE microfluidic device provides a unique ability to perform both gene expression and phenotypic analysis on the same single cells in situ, allowing us to generate a predictive index for screening patients who could benefit from ICI. This index, which simultaneously integrates the heterogeneity of single cellular responses for both gene expression and phenotype, was validated by clinically tracing 80 non-small cell lung cancer patients, demonstrating significantly higher AUC (area under the curve) (0.906) than current clinical reference for immunotherapy prediction.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zaizai Dong
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing100191, China
- School of Engineering Medicine, Beihang University, Beijing100191, China
| | - Yusen Wang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing100191, China
| | - Gaolian Xu
- Shanghai Sci-Tech InnoCenter for Infection and Immunity, Shanghai200438, China
| | - Bing Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research, Department of Thoracic Surgery II, Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Beijing100142, China
| | - Yang Wang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing100191, China
- School of Engineering Medicine, Beihang University, Beijing100191, China
| | - Julien Reboud
- Division of Biomedical Engineering, University of Glasgow, G12 8LTGlasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Pawel Jajesniak
- Division of Biomedical Engineering, University of Glasgow, G12 8LTGlasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Shi Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research, Department of Thoracic Surgery II, Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Beijing100142, China
| | - Pingchuan Ma
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing100191, China
| | - Feng Liu
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing100191, China
| | - Yuhao Zhou
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing100191, China
| | - Zhiyuan Jin
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing100191, China
| | - Kuan Yang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing100191, China
| | - Zhaocun Huang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing100191, China
| | - Minglei Zhuo
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Thoracic Medical Oncology, Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Beijing100142, China
| | - Bo Jia
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Thoracic Medical Oncology, Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Beijing100142, China
| | - Jian Fang
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Thoracic Oncology II, Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Beijing100142, China
| | - Panpan Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Thoracic Oncology II, Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Beijing100142, China
| | - Nan Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research, Department of Thoracic Surgery II, Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Beijing100142, China
| | - Mingzhu Yang
- Beijing Research Institute of Mechanical Equipment, Beijing100143, China
| | - Jonathan M. Cooper
- Division of Biomedical Engineering, University of Glasgow, G12 8LTGlasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Lingqian Chang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing100191, China
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Research and Engineering Center of Biomedical Materials, Anhui Medical University, Hefei230032, China
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Hang X, Huang Z, He S, Wang Z, Dong Z, Chang L. A Nano-Electroporation-DNA Tensioner Platform Enhances Intracellular Delivery and Mechanical Analysis Toward Rapid Drug Assessment. SMALL METHODS 2024; 8:e2300915. [PMID: 37994267 DOI: 10.1002/smtd.202300915] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2023] [Revised: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 11/24/2023]
Abstract
In vitro, drug assessment holds tremendous potential to success in novel drug development and precision medicine. Traditional techniques for drug assessment, however, face remarkable challenges to achieve high speed, as limited by incubation-based drug delivery (>several hours) and cell viability measurements (>1 d), which significantly compromise the efficacy in clinical trials. In this work, a nano-electroporation-DNA tensioner platform is reported that shortens the time of drug delivery to less than 3 s, and that of cellular mechanical force analysis to 30 min. The platform adopts a nanochannel structure to localize a safe electric field for cell perforation, while enhancing delivery speed by 103 times for intracellular delivery, as compared to molecular diffusion in coculture methods. The platform is further equipped with a DNA tensioner to detect cellular mechanical force for quantifying cell viability after drug treatment. Systematic head-to-head comparison, by analyzing FDA (food and drug administration)-approved drugs (paclitaxel, doxorubicin), demonstrated the platform with high speed, efficiency, and safety, showing a simple yet powerful tool for clinical drug screening and development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xinxin Hang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Zhaocun Huang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Shiqi He
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Zhiying Wang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Zaizai Dong
- School of Engineering Medicine, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Lingqian Chang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Research and Engineering Center of Biomedical Materials, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230032, China
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Pan J, Wang X, Chiang CL, Ma Y, Cheng J, Bertani P, Lu W, Lee LJ. Joule heating and electroosmotic flow in cellular micro/nano electroporation. LAB ON A CHIP 2024; 24:819-831. [PMID: 38235543 DOI: 10.1039/d3lc00568b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2024]
Abstract
Localized micro/nano-electroporation (MEP/NEP) shows tremendous potential in cell transfection with high cell viability, precise dose control, and good transfection efficacy. In MEP/NEP, micro or nanochannels are used to tailor the electric field distribution. Cells are positioned tightly by a micron or nanochannel, and the cargoes are delivered into the cell via the channel by electrophoresis (EP). Such confined geometries with micro and nanochannels are also widely used in sorting, isolation, and condensing of biomolecules and cells. Theoretical studies on the electrokinetic phenomena in these applications have been well established. However, for MEP/NEP applications, electrokinetic phenomena and their impact on the cell transfection efficiency and cell survival rate have not been studied comprehensively. In this work, we reveal the coupling between electric field, Joule heating, electroosmosis (EO), and EP in MEP/NEP at different channel sizes. A microfluidic biochip is used to investigate the electrokinetic phenomena in MEP/NEP on a single cell level. Bubble formation is observed at a threshold voltage due to Joule heating. The bubble is pushed to the cargo side due to EO and grows at the outlet of the nanochannel. As the voltage increases, the cargo transport efficiency decreases due to more intense EO, particularly for plasmid DNAs (3.5 kbp) with a low EP mobility. An 'electroporation zone' is defined for NEP/MEP systems with different channel sizes to avoid bubble formation and excessive EO velocity that may reduce the cargo delivery efficiency.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Junjie Pan
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA.
| | - Xinyu Wang
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA.
| | - Chi-Ling Chiang
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA.
| | - Yifan Ma
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
| | - Junao Cheng
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA.
| | - Paul Bertani
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA.
| | - Wu Lu
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA.
| | - L James Lee
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Duckert B, Lambrechts D, Braeken D, Lagae L, Fauvart M. Optimizing mRNA transfection on a high-definition electroporation microelectrode array results in 98% efficiency and multiplexed gene delivery. Biosens Bioelectron 2023; 241:115634. [PMID: 37696220 DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2023.115634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Revised: 08/15/2023] [Accepted: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 09/13/2023]
Abstract
Spatially resolved transfection, intracellular delivery of proteins and nucleic acids, has the potential to drastically speed up the discovery of biologically active cargos, for instance for the development of cell therapies or new genome engineering tools. We recently demonstrated the use of a high-density microelectrode array for the targeted electrotransfection of cells grown on its surface, a process called High-Definition Electroporation (HD-EP). We also developed a framework based on Design of Experiments to quickly establish optimized electroporation conditions across five different electrical pulse parameters. Here, we used this framework to optimize the transfection efficiency of primary fibroblasts with a mCherry-encoding mRNA, resulting in 98% of the cells expressing the desired fluorescent protein without any sign of cell death. That transfection yield is the highest reported so far for electroporation. Moreover, varying the pulse number was shown to modulate the fluorescence intensity of cells, indicating the dosage-controlled delivery of mRNA and protein expression. Finally, exploiting the single-electrode addressability of the microelectrode array, we demonstrated spatially resolved, high efficiency, sequential transfection of cells with three distinct mRNAs. Since the chip can be easily redesigned to feature a much large number of electrodes, we anticipate that this methodology will enable the development of dedicated screening platforms for analysis of mRNA variants at scale.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bastien Duckert
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200d, 3001, Leuven, Belgium; imec, Kapeldreef 75, 3001, Leuven, Belgium.
| | | | | | - Liesbet Lagae
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200d, 3001, Leuven, Belgium; imec, Kapeldreef 75, 3001, Leuven, Belgium.
| | | |
Collapse
|
8
|
Liu J, Jiang J, Deng C, Huang X, Huang S, Liu Z, Yang J, Mo J, Chen HJ, Wang J, Xie X. Nanochannel Electro-Injection as a Versatile Platform for Efficient RNA/DNA Programming on Dendritic Cells. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2023; 19:e2303088. [PMID: 37381646 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202303088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2023] [Revised: 06/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023]
Abstract
The utilization of dendritic cell (DC) vaccines is a promising approach in cancer immunotherapy, and the modification of DCs for the expression of tumor-associated antigens is critical for successful cancer immunotherapy. A safe and efficient method for delivering DNA/RNA into DCs without inducing maturation is beneficial to achieve successful DC transformation for cell vaccine applications, yet remains challenging. This work presents a nanochannel electro-injection (NEI) system for the safe and efficient delivery of a variety of nucleic acid molecules into DCs. The device is based on track-etched nanochannel membrane as key components, where the nano-sized channels localize the electric field on the cell membrane, enabling lower voltage (<30 V) for cell electroporation. The pulse conditions of NEI are examined so that the transfection efficiency (>70%) and biosafety (viability >85%) on delivering fluorescent dyes, plasmid DNA, messenger RNA, and circular RNA (circRNA) into DC2.4 are optimized. Primary mouse bone marrow DC can also be transfected with circRNA with 68.3% efficiency, but without remarkably affecting cellular viability or inducing DC maturation. These results suggest that NEI can be a safe and efficient transfection platform for in vitro transformation of DCs and possesses a promising potential for developing DC vaccines against cancer.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jing Liu
- Institute of Precision Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510080, P. R. China
- State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Display Material and Technology, School of Electronics and Information Technology, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, P. R. China
| | - Juan Jiang
- Institute of Precision Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510080, P. R. China
| | - Caiguanxi Deng
- Institute of Precision Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510080, P. R. China
| | - Xinshuo Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Display Material and Technology, School of Electronics and Information Technology, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, P. R. China
| | - Shuang Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Display Material and Technology, School of Electronics and Information Technology, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, P. R. China
| | - Zhengjie Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Display Material and Technology, School of Electronics and Information Technology, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, P. R. China
| | - Jiang Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, 510060, P. R. China
| | - Jingshan Mo
- School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, 524088, P. R. China
| | - Hui-Jiuan Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Display Material and Technology, School of Electronics and Information Technology, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, P. R. China
| | - Ji Wang
- Institute of Precision Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510080, P. R. China
| | - Xi Xie
- Institute of Precision Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510080, P. R. China
- State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Display Material and Technology, School of Electronics and Information Technology, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, P. R. China
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Frost I, Mendoza AM, Chiou TT, Kim P, Aizenberg J, Kohn DB, De Oliveira SN, Weiss PS, Jonas SJ. Fluorinated Silane-Modified Filtroporation Devices Enable Gene Knockout in Human Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2023; 15:41299-41309. [PMID: 37616579 PMCID: PMC10485797 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c07045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
Intracellular delivery technologies that are cost-effective, non-cytotoxic, efficient, and cargo-agnostic are needed to enable the manufacturing of cell-based therapies as well as gene manipulation for research applications. Current technologies capable of delivering large cargoes, such as plasmids and CRISPR-Cas9 ribonucleoproteins (RNPs), are plagued with high costs and/or cytotoxicity and often require substantial specialized equipment and reagents, which may not be available in resource-limited settings. Here, we report an intracellular delivery technology that can be assembled from materials available in most research laboratories, thus democratizing access to intracellular delivery for researchers and clinicians in low-resource areas of the world. These filtroporation devices permeabilize cells by pulling them through the pores of a cell culture insert by the application of vacuum available in biosafety cabinets. In a format that costs less than $10 in materials per experiment, we demonstrate the delivery of fluorescently labeled dextran, expression plasmids, and RNPs for gene knockout to Jurkat cells and human CD34+ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell populations with delivery efficiencies of up to 40% for RNP knockout and viabilities of >80%. We show that functionalizing the surfaces of the filters with fluorinated silane moieties further enhances the delivery efficiency. These devices are capable of processing 500,000 to 4 million cells per experiment, and when combined with a 3D-printed vacuum application chamber, this throughput can be straightforwardly increased 6-12-fold in parallel experiments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Isaura
M. Frost
- Department
of Bioengineering, University of California,
Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
- UCLA
Medical Scientist Training Program, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
- Department
of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
| | - Alexandra M. Mendoza
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University
of California, Los Angeles, Los
Angeles, California 90095, United States
- California
NanoSystems Institute, University of California,
Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
| | - Tzu-Ting Chiou
- Department
of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
| | - Philseok Kim
- John A. Paulson
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States
| | - Joanna Aizenberg
- John A. Paulson
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States
| | - Donald B. Kohn
- Department
of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, University
of California, Los Angeles, Los
Angeles, California 90095, United States
- Department
of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
- Eli
and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
| | - Satiro N. De Oliveira
- Department
of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
| | - Paul S. Weiss
- Department
of Bioengineering, University of California,
Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University
of California, Los Angeles, Los
Angeles, California 90095, United States
- California
NanoSystems Institute, University of California,
Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
- Department
of Materials Science and Engineering, University
of California, Los Angeles, Los
Angeles, California 90095, United States
| | - Steven J. Jonas
- Department
of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
- California
NanoSystems Institute, University of California,
Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
- Eli
and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
- Children’s
Discovery and Innovation Institute, University
of California, Los Angeles, Los
Angeles, California 90095, United States
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Isenmann M, Stoddart MJ, Schmelzeisen R, Gross C, Della Bella E, Rothweiler RM. Basic Principles of RNA Interference: Nucleic Acid Types and In Vitro Intracellular Delivery Methods. MICROMACHINES 2023; 14:1321. [PMID: 37512632 PMCID: PMC10383872 DOI: 10.3390/mi14071321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2023] [Revised: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 06/26/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023]
Abstract
Since its discovery in 1989, RNA interference (RNAi) has become a widely used tool for the in vitro downregulation of specific gene expression in molecular biological research. This basically involves a complementary RNA that binds a target sequence to affect its transcription or translation process. Currently, various small RNAs, such as small interfering RNA (siRNA), micro RNA (miRNA), small hairpin RNA (shRNA), and PIWI interacting RNA (piRNA), are available for application on in vitro cell culture, to regulate the cells' gene expression by mimicking the endogenous RNAi-machinery. In addition, several biochemical, physical, and viral methods have been established to deliver these RNAs into the cell or nucleus. Since each RNA and each delivery method entail different off-target effects, limitations, and compatibilities, it is crucial to understand their basic mode of action. This review is intended to provide an overview of different nucleic acids and delivery methods for planning, interpreting, and troubleshooting of RNAi experiments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marie Isenmann
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Hugstetterstrasse 55, 79106 Freiburg, Germany
- AO Research Institute Davos, Clavadelerstrasse 8, 7270 Davos, Switzerland
| | - Martin James Stoddart
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Hugstetterstrasse 55, 79106 Freiburg, Germany
- AO Research Institute Davos, Clavadelerstrasse 8, 7270 Davos, Switzerland
| | - Rainer Schmelzeisen
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Hugstetterstrasse 55, 79106 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Christian Gross
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Hugstetterstrasse 55, 79106 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Elena Della Bella
- AO Research Institute Davos, Clavadelerstrasse 8, 7270 Davos, Switzerland
| | - René Marcel Rothweiler
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Hugstetterstrasse 55, 79106 Freiburg, Germany
- AO Research Institute Davos, Clavadelerstrasse 8, 7270 Davos, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Campelo SN, Huang PH, Buie CR, Davalos RV. Recent Advancements in Electroporation Technologies: From Bench to Clinic. Annu Rev Biomed Eng 2023; 25:77-100. [PMID: 36854260 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-bioeng-110220-023800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/02/2023]
Abstract
Over the past decade, the increased adoption of electroporation-based technologies has led to an expansion of clinical research initiatives. Electroporation has been utilized in molecular biology for mammalian and bacterial transfection; for food sanitation; and in therapeutic settings to increase drug uptake, for gene therapy, and to eliminate cancerous tissues. We begin this article by discussing the biophysics required for understanding the concepts behind the cell permeation phenomenon that is electroporation. We then review nano- and microscale single-cell electroporation technologies before scaling up to emerging in vivo applications.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina N Campelo
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics, Virginia Tech-Wake Forest School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA;
| | - Po-Hsun Huang
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Cullen R Buie
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Rafael V Davalos
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics, Virginia Tech-Wake Forest School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA;
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Pan J, Chiang CL, Wang X, Bertani P, Ma Y, Cheng J, Talesara V, Lee LJ, Lu W. Cell membrane damage and cargo delivery in nano-electroporation. NANOSCALE 2023; 15:4080-4089. [PMID: 36744418 DOI: 10.1039/d2nr05575a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Nanochannel electroporation (NEP) is a new technology for cell transfection, which provides superior gene delivery and cell viability to conventional bulk electroporation (BEP). In NEP, the cells laid on a porous substrate are subjected to an asymmetric electric field which induces asymmetric membrane poration. The cell membrane near the channel outlet ('transfection membrane') is porated intensely, allowing direct delivery of genetic materials, while the rest of the cell membrane ('non-transfection membrane') remains much less perturbed for low cellular damage. In this work, the transfection window of NEP for the delivery of different sized molecules is systematically investigated. The results show that small molecules (∼0.6 kDa) can be delivered into cells at a relatively lower voltage without significantly impacting the non-transfection membrane. To deliver larger molecules (∼6 kDa), a higher working voltage is required at the cost of cell viability due to more severe damage of the non-transfection membrane. Through numerical analysis of both transient transmembrane potential (t-TMP) and dynamic transmembrane potential (d-TMP), here we show that the membrane damage on both transfection and non-transfection sides of the cell membrane can be predicted. The agreement between experimental results and numerical analysis provides a comprehensive understanding of cell membrane damage and cargo delivery in NEP.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Junjie Pan
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA.
| | - Chi-Ling Chiang
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA.
| | - Xinyu Wang
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA.
| | - Paul Bertani
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA.
| | - Yifan Ma
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
| | - Junao Cheng
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA.
| | - Vishank Talesara
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA.
| | - Ly James Lee
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA.
| | - Wu Lu
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Nanomaterial-mediated photoporation for intracellular delivery. Acta Biomater 2023; 157:24-48. [PMID: 36584801 DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2022.12.050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2022] [Revised: 12/18/2022] [Accepted: 12/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Translocation of extrinsic molecules into living cells is becoming increasingly crucial in biological studies ranging from cell engineering to biomedical applications. The concerns regarding biosafety and immunogenicity for conventional vectors and physical methods yet challenge effective intracellular delivery. Here, we begin with an overview of approaches for trans-membrane delivery up to now. These methods are featured with a relatively mature application but usually encounter low cell survival. Our review then proposes an advanced application for nanomaterial-sensitized photoporation triggered with a laser. We cover the mechanisms, procedures, and outcomes of photoporation-induced intracellular delivery with a highlight on its versatility to different living cells. We hope the review discussed here encourages researchers to further improvement and applications for photoporation-induced intracellular delivery. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE.
Collapse
|
14
|
Zhang H, Wang S, Sun M, Cui Y, Xing J, Teng L, Xi Z, Yang Z. Exosomes as smart drug delivery vehicles for cancer immunotherapy. Front Immunol 2023; 13:1093607. [PMID: 36733388 PMCID: PMC9888251 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1093607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2022] [Accepted: 12/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Exosomes (Exos) as drug delivery vehicles have been widely used for cancer immunotherapy owing to their good biocompatibility, low toxicity, and low immunogenicity. Some Exos-based cancer immunotherapy strategies such as tuning of immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, immune checkpoint blockades, and cancer vaccines have also been investigated in recent years, which all showed excellent therapeutic effects for malignant tumor. Furthermore, some Exos-based drug delivery systems (DDSs) for cancer immunotherapy have also undergone clinic trails, indicating that Exos are a promising drug delivery carrier. In this review, in order to promote the development of Exos-based DDSs in cancer immunotherapy, the biogenesis and composition of Exos, and Exos as drug delivery vehicles for cancer immunotherapy are summarized. Meanwhile, their clinical translation and challenges are also discussed. We hope this review will provide a good guidance for Exos as drug delivery vehicles for cancer immunotherapy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Huan Zhang
- School of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Simiao Wang
- School of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Man Sun
- School of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Yaxin Cui
- School of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Jianming Xing
- School of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Lesheng Teng
- School of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Zhifang Xi
- School of Horticulture and Food, Guangdong Eco-Engineering Polytechnic, Guangzhou, China,*Correspondence: Zhifang Xi, ; Zhaogang Yang,
| | - Zhaogang Yang
- School of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China,*Correspondence: Zhifang Xi, ; Zhaogang Yang,
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Wan F, Dong Z, Liu B, Yan S, Wu N, Yang M, Chang L. Sensitive Interrogation of Enhancer Activity in Living Cells on a Nanoelectroporation-Probing Platform. ACS Sens 2022; 7:3671-3681. [PMID: 36410738 DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.2c01187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Enhancers involved in the upregulation of multiple oncogenes play a fundamental role in tumorigenesis and immortalization. Exploring the activity of enhancers in living cells has emerged as a critical path to a deep understanding of cancer properties, further providing important clues to targeted therapy. However, identifying enhancer activity in living cells is challenging due to the double biological barriers of a cell cytoplasmic membrane and a nuclear membrane, limiting the sensitivity and responsiveness of conventional probing methods. In this work, we developed a nanoelectroporation-probing (NP) platform, which enables intranuclear probe delivery for sensitive interrogation of enhancer activity in living cells. The nanoelectroporation biochip achieved highly focused perforation of the cell cytoplasmic membrane and brought about additional driving force to expedite the delivery of probes into the nucleus. The probes targeting enhancer activity (named "PH probe") are programmed with a cyclic amplification strategy and enable an increase in the fluorescence signals over 100-fold within 1 h. The platform was leveraged to detect the activity of CCAT1 enhancers (CCAT1, colon cancer-associated transcript-1, a long noncoding RNA that functions in tumor invasion and metastasis) in cell samples from clinical lung cancer patients, as well as reveal the heterogeneity of enhancers among different patients. The observations may extend the linkages between enhancers and cancer cells while validating the robustness and reliability of the platform for the assay of enhancer activity. This platform will be a promising toolbox with wide applicable potential for the intranuclear study of living cells.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fengqi Wan
- Key Laboratory of Biomechanics and Mechanobiology (Ministry of Education), Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China.,Cuiying Biomedical Research Center, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou 730030, China
| | - Zaizai Dong
- Key Laboratory of Biomechanics and Mechanobiology (Ministry of Education), Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Bing Liu
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Department of Thoracic Surgery II, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing 100142, China
| | - Shi Yan
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Department of Thoracic Surgery II, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing 100142, China
| | - Nan Wu
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Department of Thoracic Surgery II, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing 100142, China
| | - Mingzhu Yang
- Key Laboratory of Biomechanics and Mechanobiology (Ministry of Education), Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Lingqian Chang
- Key Laboratory of Biomechanics and Mechanobiology (Ministry of Education), Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China.,School of Biomedical Engineering, Research and Engineering Center of Biomedical Materials, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Vindiš T, Blažič A, Khayyat D, Potočnik T, Sachdev S, Rems L. Gene Electrotransfer into Mammalian Cells Using Commercial Cell Culture Inserts with Porous Substrate. Pharmaceutics 2022; 14:pharmaceutics14091959. [PMID: 36145709 PMCID: PMC9506064 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14091959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2022] [Revised: 09/04/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Gene electrotransfer is one of the main non-viral methods for intracellular delivery of plasmid DNA, wherein pulsed electric fields are used to transiently permeabilize the cell membrane, allowing enhanced transmembrane transport. By localizing the electric field over small portions of the cell membrane using nanostructured substrates, it is possible to increase considerably the gene electrotransfer efficiency while preserving cell viability. In this study, we expand the frontier of localized electroporation by designing an electrotransfer approach based on commercially available cell culture inserts with polyethylene-terephthalate (PET) porous substrate. We first use multiscale numerical modeling to determine the pulse parameters, substrate pore size, and other factors that are expected to result in successful gene electrotransfer. Based on the numerical results, we design a simple device combining an insert with substrate containing pores with 0.4 µm or 1.0 µm diameter, a multiwell plate, and a pair of wire electrodes. We test the device in three mammalian cell lines and obtain transfection efficiencies similar to those achieved with conventional bulk electroporation, but at better cell viability and with low-voltage pulses that do not require the use of expensive electroporators. Our combined theoretical and experimental analysis calls for further systematic studies that will investigate the influence of substrate pore size and porosity on gene electrotransfer efficiency and cell viability.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tina Vindiš
- Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Tržaška 25, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Anja Blažič
- Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Tržaška 25, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Diaa Khayyat
- Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Tržaška 25, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Institute for Multiphase Processes, Leibniz University Hannover, An der Universität 1, 30823 Garbsen, Germany
- Lower Saxony Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Implant Research and Development, Stadtfelddamm 34, 30625 Hannover, Germany
| | - Tjaša Potočnik
- Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Tržaška 25, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Shaurya Sachdev
- Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Tržaška 25, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Lea Rems
- Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Tržaška 25, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Correspondence:
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Abstract
Electroporation (EP) is a commonly used strategy to increase cell permeability for intracellular cargo delivery or irreversible cell membrane disruption using electric fields. In recent years, EP performance has been improved by shrinking electrodes and device structures to the microscale. Integration with microfluidics has led to the design of devices performing static EP, where cells are fixed in a defined region, or continuous EP, where cells constantly pass through the device. Each device type performs superior to conventional, macroscale EP devices while providing additional advantages in precision manipulation (static EP) and increased throughput (continuous EP). Microscale EP is gentle on cells and has enabled more sensitive assaying of cells with novel applications. In this Review, we present the physical principles of microscale EP devices and examine design trends in recent years. In addition, we discuss the use of reversible and irreversible EP in the development of therapeutics and analysis of intracellular contents, among other noteworthy applications. This Review aims to inform and encourage scientists and engineers to expand the use of efficient and versatile microscale EP technologies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sung-Eun Choi
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
| | - Harrison Khoo
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
| | - Soojung Claire Hur
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
- Institute for NanoBioTechnology, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
- Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University, 401 North Broadway, Baltimore, Maryland 21231, United States
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Wang F, Lin S, Yu Z, Wang Y, Zhang D, Cao C, Wang Z, Cui D, Chen D. Recent advances in microfluidic-based electroporation techniques for cell membranes. LAB ON A CHIP 2022; 22:2624-2646. [PMID: 35775630 DOI: 10.1039/d2lc00122e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Electroporation is a fundamental technique for applications in biotechnology. To date, the ongoing research on cell membrane electroporation has explored its mechanism, principles and potential applications. Therefore, in this review, we first discuss the primary electroporation mechanism to help establish a clear framework. Within the context of its principles, several critical terms are highlighted to present a better understanding of the theory of aqueous pores. Different degrees of electroporation can be used in different applications. Thus, we discuss the electric factors (shock strength, shock duration, and shock frequency) responsible for the degree of electroporation. In addition, finding an effective electroporation detection method is of great significance to optimize electroporation experiments. Accordingly, we summarize several primary electroporation detection methods in the following sections. Finally, given the development of micro- and nano-technology has greatly promoted the innovation of microfluidic-based electroporation devices, we also present the recent advances in microfluidic-based electroporation devices. Also, the challenges and outlook of the electroporation technique for cell membrane electroporation are presented.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fei Wang
- School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China.
- Shanghai Engineering Research Centre for Intelligent Diagnosis and Treatment Instrument, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China
- Key Lab. for Thin Film and Microfabrication Technology of Ministry of Education, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China
| | - Shujing Lin
- School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China.
- Shanghai Engineering Research Centre for Intelligent Diagnosis and Treatment Instrument, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China
- Key Lab. for Thin Film and Microfabrication Technology of Ministry of Education, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China
| | - Zixian Yu
- School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China.
- Shanghai Engineering Research Centre for Intelligent Diagnosis and Treatment Instrument, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China
- Key Lab. for Thin Film and Microfabrication Technology of Ministry of Education, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China
| | - Yanpu Wang
- School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China.
- Shanghai Engineering Research Centre for Intelligent Diagnosis and Treatment Instrument, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China
- Key Lab. for Thin Film and Microfabrication Technology of Ministry of Education, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China
| | - Di Zhang
- Centre for Advanced Electronic Materials and Devices (AEMD), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China
| | - Chengxi Cao
- School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China.
- Shanghai Engineering Research Centre for Intelligent Diagnosis and Treatment Instrument, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China
| | - Zhigang Wang
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai 200233, China
| | - Daxiang Cui
- School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China.
- Shanghai Engineering Research Centre for Intelligent Diagnosis and Treatment Instrument, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China
- Key Lab. for Thin Film and Microfabrication Technology of Ministry of Education, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China
| | - Di Chen
- School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China.
- Shanghai Engineering Research Centre for Intelligent Diagnosis and Treatment Instrument, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China
- Key Lab. for Thin Film and Microfabrication Technology of Ministry of Education, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Muralidharan A, Pesch GR, Hubbe H, Rems L, Nouri-Goushki M, Boukany PE. Microtrap array on a chip for localized electroporation and electro-gene transfection. Bioelectrochemistry 2022; 147:108197. [PMID: 35810498 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioelechem.2022.108197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2022] [Revised: 06/09/2022] [Accepted: 06/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
We developed a localized single-cell electroporation chip to deliver exogenous biomolecules with high efficiency while maintaining high cell viability. In our microfluidic device, the cells are trapped in a microtrap array by flow, after which target molecules are supplied to the device and electrotransferred to the cells under electric pulses. The system provides the ability to monitor the electrotransfer of exogenous biomolecules in real time. We reveal through numerical simulations that localized electroporation is the mechanism of permeabilization in the microtrap array electroporation device. We demonstrate the simplicity and accuracy of this microtrap technology for electroporation by delivery of both small molecules using propidium iodide and large molecules using plasmid DNA for gene expression, illustrating the potential of this minimally invasive method to be widely used for precise intracellular delivery purposes (from bioprocess engineering to therapeutic applications).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Aswin Muralidharan
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, the Netherlands.
| | - Georg R Pesch
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Hendrik Hubbe
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Lea Rems
- Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Trzaska 25, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Mahdiyeh Nouri-Goushki
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Pouyan E Boukany
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Delft University of Technology, van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, the Netherlands.
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
In Situ Electroporation on PERFECT Filter for High-Efficiency and High-Viability Tumor Cell Labeling. MICROMACHINES 2022; 13:mi13050672. [PMID: 35630139 PMCID: PMC9146625 DOI: 10.3390/mi13050672] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Revised: 04/20/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Labeling-assisted visualization is a powerful strategy to track circulating tumor cells (CTCs) for mechanism study (e.g., tumor metastasis). Due to the rarity of CTCs in the whole blood, efficient simultaneous enrichment and labeling of CTCs are needed. Hereby, novel in situ electroporation on a previously-developed micropore-arrayed filter (PERFECT filter) is proposed. Benefiting from the ultra-small-thickness and high-porosity of the filter plus high precision pore diameter, target rare tumor cells were enriched with less damage and uniform size distribution, contributing to enhanced molecular delivery efficiency and cell viability in the downstream electroporation. Various biomolecules (e.g., small molecule dyes, plasmids, and functional proteins) were used to verify this in situ electroporation system. High labeling efficiency (74.08 ± 2.94%) and high viability (81.15 ± 3.04%, verified via live/dead staining) were achieved by optimizing the parameters of electric field strength and pulse number, ensuring the labeled tumor cells can be used for further culture and down-stream analysis. In addition, high specificity (99.03 ± 1.67%) probing of tumor cells was further achieved by introducing fluorescent dye-conjugated antibodies into target cells. The whole procedure, including cell separation and electroporation, can be finished quickly (<10 min). The proposed in situ electroporation on the PERFECT filter system has great potential to track CTCs for tumor metastasis studies.
Collapse
|
21
|
Sun H, Dong Z, Zhang Q, Liu B, Yan S, Wang Y, Yin D, Wang Y, Ren P, Wu N, Chang L. Companion-Probe & Race platform for interrogating nuclear protein and migration of living cells. Biosens Bioelectron 2022; 210:114281. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2022.114281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2022] [Revised: 04/01/2022] [Accepted: 04/09/2022] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
|
22
|
Brooks JR, Mungloo I, Mirfendereski S, Quint JP, Paul D, Jaberi A, Park JS, Yang R. An equivalent circuit model for localized electroporation on porous substrates. Biosens Bioelectron 2022; 199:113862. [PMID: 34923307 PMCID: PMC8741749 DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2021.113862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2021] [Revised: 11/29/2021] [Accepted: 12/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
In vitro intracellular delivery is a fundamental challenge with no widely adopted methods capable of both delivering to millions of cells and controlling that delivery to a high degree of accuracy. One promising method is porous substrate electroporation (PSEP), where cells are cultured on porous substrates and electric fields are used to permeabilize discrete portions of the cell membrane for delivery. A major obstacle to the widespread use of PSEP is a poor understanding of the various impedances that constitute the system, including the impedances of the porous substrate and the cell monolayer, and how these impedances are influenced by experimental parameters. In response, we used impedance measurements to develop an equivalent circuit model that closely mimics the behavior of each of the main components of the PSEP system. This circuit model reveals for the first time the distribution of voltage across the electrode-electrolyte interface impedances, the channels of the porous substrate, the cell monolayer, and the transmembrane potential during PSEP. We applied sample waveforms through our model to understand how waveforms can be improved for future studies. Our model was validated from intracellular delivery of protein using PSEP.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Ruiguo Yang
- Nebraska Center for Integrated Biomolecular Communication, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, 68588, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Duarte-Sanmiguel S, Panic A, Dodd DJ, Salazar-Puerta A, Moore JT, Lawrence WR, Nairon K, Francis C, Zachariah N, McCoy W, Turaga R, Skardal A, Carson WE, Higuita-Castro N, Gallego-Perez D. In Situ Deployment of Engineered Extracellular Vesicles into the Tumor Niche via Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells. Adv Healthc Mater 2022; 11:e2101619. [PMID: 34662497 PMCID: PMC8891033 DOI: 10.1002/adhm.202101619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2021] [Revised: 09/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have emerged as a promising carrier system for the delivery of therapeutic payloads in multiple disease models, including cancer. However, effective targeting of EVs to cancerous tissue remains a challenge. Here, it is shown that nonviral transfection of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) can be leveraged to drive targeted release of engineered EVs that can modulate transfer and overexpression of therapeutic anticancer genes in tumor cells and tissue. MDSCs are immature immune cells that exhibit enhanced tropism toward tumor tissue and play a role in modulating tumor progression. Current MDSC research has been mostly focused on mitigating immunosuppression in the tumor niche; however, the tumor homing abilities of these cells present untapped potential to deliver EV therapeutics directly to cancerous tissue. In vivo and ex vivo studies with murine models of breast cancer show that nonviral transfection of MDSCs does not hinder their ability to home to cancerous tissue. Moreover, transfected MDSCs can release engineered EVs and mediate antitumoral responses via paracrine signaling, including decreased invasion/metastatic activity and increased apoptosis/necrosis. Altogether, these findings indicate that MDSCs can be a powerful tool for the deployment of EV-based therapeutics to tumor tissue.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Ana Panic
- The Ohio State University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbus, OH 43210
| | - Daniel J. Dodd
- The Ohio State University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbus, OH 43210
- The Ohio State University, Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, Columbus, OH 43210
| | - Ana Salazar-Puerta
- The Ohio State University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbus, OH 43210
| | - Jordan T. Moore
- The Ohio State University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbus, OH 43210
| | - William R. Lawrence
- The Ohio State University, Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, Columbus, OH 43210
| | - Kylie Nairon
- The Ohio State University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbus, OH 43210
| | - Carlie Francis
- The Ohio State University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbus, OH 43210
| | - Natalie Zachariah
- The Ohio State University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbus, OH 43210
| | - William McCoy
- The Ohio State University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbus, OH 43210
| | - Rithvik Turaga
- The Ohio State University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbus, OH 43210
| | - Aleksander Skardal
- The Ohio State University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbus, OH 43210
| | - William E. Carson
- The Ohio State University, Department of Surgery, Columbus, OH 43210
| | - Natalia Higuita-Castro
- The Ohio State University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbus, OH 43210
- The Ohio State University, Department of Surgery, Columbus, OH 43210
- The Ohio State University, Biophysics Program, OH 43210
| | - Daniel Gallego-Perez
- The Ohio State University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbus, OH 43210
- The Ohio State University, Department of Surgery, Columbus, OH 43210
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Aghaamoo M, Chen Y, Li X, Garg N, Jiang R, Yun JT, Lee AP. High-Throughput and Dosage-Controlled Intracellular Delivery of Large Cargos by an Acoustic-Electric Micro-Vortices Platform. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2022; 9:e2102021. [PMID: 34716688 PMCID: PMC8728830 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202102021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2021] [Revised: 09/23/2021] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
A high-throughput non-viral intracellular delivery platform is introduced for the transfection of large cargos with dosage-control. This platform, termed Acoustic-Electric Shear Orbiting Poration (AESOP), optimizes the delivery of intended cargo sizes with poration of the cell membranes via mechanical shear followed by the modulated expansion of these nanopores via electric field. Furthermore, AESOP utilizes acoustic microstreaming vortices wherein up to millions of cells are trapped and mixed uniformly with exogenous cargos, enabling the delivery of cargos into cells with targeted dosages. Intracellular delivery of a wide range of molecule sizes (<1 kDa to 2 MDa) with high efficiency (>90%), cell viability (>80%), and uniform dosages (<60% coefficient of variation (CV)) simultaneously into 1 million cells min-1 per single chip is demonstrated. AESOP is successfully applied to two gene editing applications that require the delivery of large plasmids: i) enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) plasmid (6.1 kbp) transfection, and ii) clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas9-mediated gene knockout using a 9.3 kbp plasmid DNA encoding Cas9 protein and single guide RNA (sgRNA). Compared to alternative platforms, this platform offers dosage-controlled intracellular delivery of large plasmids simultaneously to large populations of cells while maintaining cell viability at comparable delivery efficiencies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Aghaamoo
- Department of Biomedical EngineeringUniversity of California IrvineIrvineCA92697USA
- Center for Advanced Design & Manufacturing of Integrated Microfluidics (CADMIM)University of California IrvineIrvineCA92697USA
| | - Yu‐Hsi Chen
- Department of Biomedical EngineeringUniversity of California IrvineIrvineCA92697USA
- Center for Advanced Design & Manufacturing of Integrated Microfluidics (CADMIM)University of California IrvineIrvineCA92697USA
| | - Xuan Li
- Department of Biomedical EngineeringUniversity of California IrvineIrvineCA92697USA
- Center for Advanced Design & Manufacturing of Integrated Microfluidics (CADMIM)University of California IrvineIrvineCA92697USA
| | - Neha Garg
- Department of Biomedical EngineeringUniversity of California IrvineIrvineCA92697USA
- Center for Advanced Design & Manufacturing of Integrated Microfluidics (CADMIM)University of California IrvineIrvineCA92697USA
| | - Ruoyu Jiang
- Department of Biomedical EngineeringUniversity of California IrvineIrvineCA92697USA
- Center for Advanced Design & Manufacturing of Integrated Microfluidics (CADMIM)University of California IrvineIrvineCA92697USA
| | - Jeremy Tian‐Hao Yun
- Department of Biomedical EngineeringUniversity of California IrvineIrvineCA92697USA
- Palo Alto Senior High SchoolPalo AltoCA94301USA
| | - Abraham Phillip Lee
- Department of Biomedical EngineeringUniversity of California IrvineIrvineCA92697USA
- Center for Advanced Design & Manufacturing of Integrated Microfluidics (CADMIM)University of California IrvineIrvineCA92697USA
- Department of Mechanical & Aerospace EngineeringUniversity of California IrvineIrvineCA92697USA
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Dong Z, Chang L. Recent electroporation-based systems for intracellular molecule delivery. NANOTECHNOLOGY AND PRECISION ENGINEERING 2021. [DOI: 10.1063/10.0005649] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Zaizai Dong
- Key Laboratory for Biomechanics and Mechanobiology of Ministry of Education, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Lingqian Chang
- Key Laboratory for Biomechanics and Mechanobiology of Ministry of Education, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Wu Y, Fu A, Yossifon G. Micromotor-based localized electroporation and gene transfection of mammalian cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2106353118. [PMID: 34531322 PMCID: PMC8463876 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2106353118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Herein, we studied localized electroporation and gene transfection of mammalian cells using a metallodielectric hybrid micromotor that is magnetically and electrically powered. Much like nanochannel-based, local electroporation of single cells, the presented micromotor was expected to increase reversible electroporation yield, relative to standard electroporation, as only a small portion of the cell's membrane (in contact with the micromotor) is affected. In contrast to methods in which the entire membrane of all cells within the sample are electroporated, the presented micromotor can perform, via magnetic steering, localized, spatially precise electroporation of the target cells that it traps and transports. In order to minimize nonselective electrical lysis of all cells within the chamber, resulting from extended exposure to an electrical field, magnetic propulsion was used to approach the immediate vicinity of the targeted cell, after which short-duration, electric-driven propulsion was activated to enable contact with the cell, followed by electroporation. In addition to local injection of fluorescent dye molecules, we demonstrated that the micromotor can enhance the introduction of plasmids into the suspension cells because of the dielectrophoretic accumulation of the plasmids in between the Janus particle and the attached cell prior to the electroporation step. Here, we chose a different strategy involving the simultaneous operation of many micromotors that are self-propelling, without external steering, and pair with cells in an autonomic manner. The locally electroporated suspension cells that are considered to be very difficult to transfect were shown to express the transfected gene, which is of significant importance for molecular biology research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yue Wu
- Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Micro-, and Nanofluidics Laboratory, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel
| | - Afu Fu
- Technion Rappaport Integrated Cancer Center, the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research Institute, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3109601, Israel
| | - Gilad Yossifon
- Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Micro-, and Nanofluidics Laboratory, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel;
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Hur J, Chung AJ. Microfluidic and Nanofluidic Intracellular Delivery. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2021; 8:e2004595. [PMID: 34096197 PMCID: PMC8336510 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202004595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2020] [Revised: 04/14/2021] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Innate cell function can be artificially engineered and reprogrammed by introducing biomolecules, such as DNAs, RNAs, plasmid DNAs, proteins, or nanomaterials, into the cytosol or nucleus. This process of delivering exogenous cargos into living cells is referred to as intracellular delivery. For instance, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas9 gene editing begins with internalizing Cas9 protein and guide RNA into cells, and chimeric antigen receptor-T (CAR-T) cells are prepared by delivering CAR genes into T lymphocytes for cancer immunotherapies. To deliver external biomolecules into cells, tools, including viral vectors, and electroporation have been traditionally used; however, they are suboptimal for achieving high levels of intracellular delivery while preserving cell viability, phenotype, and function. Notably, as emerging solutions, microfluidic and nanofluidic approaches have shown remarkable potential for addressing this open challenge. This review provides an overview of recent advances in microfluidic and nanofluidic intracellular delivery strategies and discusses new opportunities and challenges for clinical applications. Furthermore, key considerations for future efforts to develop microfluidics- and nanofluidics-enabled next-generation intracellular delivery platforms are outlined.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jeongsoo Hur
- School of Biomedical EngineeringKorea UniversitySeoul02841Republic of Korea
| | - Aram J. Chung
- School of Biomedical EngineeringInterdisciplinary Program in Precision Public HealthKorea UniversitySeoul02841Republic of Korea
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Dong Z, Yan S, Liu B, Hao Y, Lin L, Chang T, Sun H, Wang Y, Li H, Wu H, Hang X, He S, Hu J, Xue X, Wu N, Chang L. Single Living Cell Analysis Nanoplatform for High-Throughput Interrogation of Gene Mutation and Cellular Behavior. NANO LETTERS 2021; 21:4878-4886. [PMID: 33830766 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.1c00199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The genetic heterogeneities in cancer cells pose challenges to achieving precise drug treatment in a widely applicable manner. Most single-cell gene analysis methods rely on cell lysis for gene extraction and identification, showing limited capacity to provide the correlation of genetic properties and real-time cellular behaviors. Here, we report a single living cell analysis nanoplatform that enables interrogating gene properties and drug resistance in millions of single cells. We designed a Domino-probe to identify intracellular target RNAs while releasing 10-fold amplified fluorescence signals. An on-chip addressable microwell-nanopore array was developed for enhanced electro-delivery of the Domino-probe and in situ observation of cell behaviors. The proof-of-concept of the system was validated in primary lung cancer cell samples, revealing the positive-correlation of the ratio of EGFR mutant cells with their drug susceptibilities. This platform provides a high-throughput yet precise tool for exploring the relationship between intracellular genes and cell behaviors at the single-cell level.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zaizai Dong
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Shi Yan
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Department of Thoracic Surgery II, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing 100142, China
| | - Bing Liu
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Department of Thoracic Surgery II, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing 100142, China
| | - Yongcun Hao
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Micro and Nano Systems for Aerospace, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, China
| | - Long Lin
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Tianrui Chang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Hong Sun
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Yusen Wang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Hu Li
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Han Wu
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Xinxin Hang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Shiqi He
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Jiaming Hu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Laser Life Science & Institute of Laser Life Science, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Laser Life Science, College of Biophotonics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
| | - Xinying Xue
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care, Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Peking University Ninth School of Clinical Medicine, Beijing 100038, China
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China
- Affiliated Hospital of Weifang Medical University, Shandong 261031, China
| | - Nan Wu
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Department of Thoracic Surgery II, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing 100142, China
| | - Lingqian Chang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Kaladharan K, Kumar A, Gupta P, Illath K, Santra TS, Tseng FG. Microfluidic Based Physical Approaches towards Single-Cell Intracellular Delivery and Analysis. MICROMACHINES 2021; 12:631. [PMID: 34071732 PMCID: PMC8228766 DOI: 10.3390/mi12060631] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2021] [Revised: 05/24/2021] [Accepted: 05/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The ability to deliver foreign molecules into a single living cell with high transfection efficiency and high cell viability is of great interest in cell biology for applications in therapeutic development, diagnostics, and drug delivery towards personalized medicine. Various physical delivery methods have long demonstrated the ability to deliver cargo molecules directly to the cytoplasm or nucleus and the mechanisms underlying most of the approaches have been extensively investigated. However, most of these techniques are bulk approaches that are cell-specific and have low throughput delivery. In comparison to bulk measurements, single-cell measurement technologies can provide a better understanding of the interactions among molecules, organelles, cells, and the microenvironment, which can aid in the development of therapeutics and diagnostic tools. To elucidate distinct responses during cell genetic modification, methods to achieve transfection at the single-cell level are of great interest. In recent years, single-cell technologies have become increasingly robust and accessible, although limitations exist. This review article aims to cover various microfluidic-based physical methods for single-cell intracellular delivery such as electroporation, mechanoporation, microinjection, sonoporation, optoporation, magnetoporation, and thermoporation and their analysis. The mechanisms of various physical methods, their applications, limitations, and prospects are also elaborated.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kiran Kaladharan
- Department of Engineering and System Science, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 300044, Taiwan; (K.K.); (A.K.)
| | - Ashish Kumar
- Department of Engineering and System Science, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 300044, Taiwan; (K.K.); (A.K.)
| | - Pallavi Gupta
- Department of Engineering Design, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036, India; (P.G.); (K.I.)
| | - Kavitha Illath
- Department of Engineering Design, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036, India; (P.G.); (K.I.)
| | - Tuhin Subhra Santra
- Department of Engineering Design, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036, India; (P.G.); (K.I.)
| | - Fan-Gang Tseng
- Department of Engineering and System Science, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 300044, Taiwan; (K.K.); (A.K.)
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Kumar ARK, Shou Y, Chan B, L K, Tay A. Materials for Improving Immune Cell Transfection. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2021; 33:e2007421. [PMID: 33860598 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202007421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2020] [Revised: 12/08/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy holds great promise for preventing and treating deadly diseases such as cancer. However, it remains challenging to transfect and engineer primary immune cells for clinical cell manufacturing. Conventional tools using viral vectors and bulk electroporation suffer from low efficiency while posing risks like viral transgene integration and excessive biological perturbations. Emerging techniques using microfluidics, nanoparticles, and high-aspect-ratio nanostructures can overcome these challenges, and on top of that, provide universal and high-throughput cargo delivery. Herein, the strengths and limitations of traditional and emerging materials for immune cell transfection, and commercial development of these tools, are discussed. To enhance the characterization of transfection techniques and uptake by the clinical community, a list of in vitro and in vivo assays to perform, along with relevant protocols, is recommended. The overall aim, herein, is to motivate the development of novel materials to meet rising demand in transfection for clinical CAR-T cell manufacturing.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Arun R K Kumar
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117583, Singapore
- Institute for Health Innovation & Technology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117599, Singapore
| | - Yufeng Shou
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117583, Singapore
| | - Brian Chan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117583, Singapore
| | - Krishaa L
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117583, Singapore
| | - Andy Tay
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117583, Singapore
- Institute for Health Innovation & Technology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117599, Singapore
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Morshedi Rad D, Alsadat Rad M, Razavi Bazaz S, Kashaninejad N, Jin D, Ebrahimi Warkiani M. A Comprehensive Review on Intracellular Delivery. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2021; 33:e2005363. [PMID: 33594744 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202005363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2020] [Revised: 09/22/2020] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Intracellular delivery is considered an indispensable process for various studies, ranging from medical applications (cell-based therapy) to fundamental (genome-editing) and industrial (biomanufacture) approaches. Conventional macroscale delivery systems critically suffer from such issues as low cell viability, cytotoxicity, and inconsistent material delivery, which have opened up an interest in the development of more efficient intracellular delivery systems. In line with the advances in microfluidics and nanotechnology, intracellular delivery based on micro- and nanoengineered platforms has progressed rapidly and held great promises owing to their unique features. These approaches have been advanced to introduce a smorgasbord of diverse cargoes into various cell types with the maximum efficiency and the highest precision. This review differentiates macro-, micro-, and nanoengineered approaches for intracellular delivery. The macroengineered delivery platforms are first summarized and then each method is categorized based on whether it employs a carrier- or membrane-disruption-mediated mechanism to load cargoes inside the cells. Second, particular emphasis is placed on the micro- and nanoengineered advances in the delivery of biomolecules inside the cells. Furthermore, the applications and challenges of the established and emerging delivery approaches are summarized. The topic is concluded by evaluating the future perspective of intracellular delivery toward the micro- and nanoengineered approaches.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dorsa Morshedi Rad
- School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia
- Institute for Biomedical Materials & Devices (IBMD), Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia
| | - Maryam Alsadat Rad
- School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia
- Institute for Biomedical Materials & Devices (IBMD), Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia
| | - Sajad Razavi Bazaz
- School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia
- Institute for Biomedical Materials & Devices (IBMD), Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia
| | - Navid Kashaninejad
- School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia
- Institute for Biomedical Materials & Devices (IBMD), Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia
| | - Dayong Jin
- Institute for Biomedical Materials & Devices (IBMD), Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia
- School of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia
| | - Majid Ebrahimi Warkiani
- School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia
- Institute for Biomedical Materials & Devices (IBMD), Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, Sechenov University, Moscow, 119991, Russia
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Brooks J, Minnick G, Mukherjee P, Jaberi A, Chang L, Espinosa HD, Yang R. High Throughput and Highly Controllable Methods for In Vitro Intracellular Delivery. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2020; 16:e2004917. [PMID: 33241661 PMCID: PMC8729875 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202004917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2020] [Revised: 10/06/2020] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
In vitro and ex vivo intracellular delivery methods hold the key for releasing the full potential of tissue engineering, drug development, and many other applications. In recent years, there has been significant progress in the design and implementation of intracellular delivery systems capable of delivery at the same scale as viral transfection and bulk electroporation but offering fewer adverse outcomes. This review strives to examine a variety of methods for in vitro and ex vivo intracellular delivery such as flow-through microfluidics, engineered substrates, and automated probe-based systems from the perspective of throughput and control. Special attention is paid to a particularly promising method of electroporation using micro/nanochannel based porous substrates, which expose small patches of cell membrane to permeabilizing electric field. Porous substrate electroporation parameters discussed include system design, cells and cargos used, transfection efficiency and cell viability, and the electric field and its effects on molecular transport. The review concludes with discussion of potential new innovations which can arise from specific aspects of porous substrate-based electroporation platforms and high throughput, high control methods in general.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Justin Brooks
- Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, 68588, USA
| | - Grayson Minnick
- Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, 68588, USA
| | - Prithvijit Mukherjee
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Arian Jaberi
- Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, 68588, USA
| | - Lingqian Chang
- School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Horacio D. Espinosa
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Theoretical and Applied Mechanics Program, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Ruiguo Yang
- Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, 68588, USA
- Nebraska Center for Integrated Biomolecular Communication, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, 68588, USA
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Duckert B, Vinkx S, Braeken D, Fauvart M. Single-cell transfection technologies for cell therapies and gene editing. J Control Release 2020; 330:963-975. [PMID: 33160005 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2020.10.068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2020] [Revised: 10/30/2020] [Accepted: 10/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Advances in gene editing and cell therapies have recently led to outstanding clinical successes. However, the lack of a cost-effective manufacturing process prevents the democratization of these innovative medical tools. Due to the common use of viral vectors, the step of transfection in which cells are engineered to gain new functions, is a major bottleneck in making safe and affordable cell products. A promising opportunity lies in Single-Cell Transfection Technologies (SCTTs). SCTTs have demonstrated higher efficiency, safety and scalability than conventional transfection methods. They can also feature unique abilities such as substantial dosage control over the cargo delivery, single-cell addressability and integration in microdevices comprising multiple monitoring modalities. Unfortunately, the potential of SCTTs is not fully appreciated: they are most often restricted to research settings with little adoption in clinical settings. To encourage their adoption, we review and compare recent developments in SCTTs, and how they can enable selected clinical applications. To help bridge the gap between fundamental research and its translation to the clinic, we also describe how Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) can be integrated in the design of SCTTs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bastien Duckert
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200d, 3001 Leuven, Belgium; IMEC, Kapeldreef 75, 3001 Leuven, Belgium.
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
34
|
Moore JT, Wier CG, Lemmerman LR, Ortega-Pineda L, Dodd DJ, Lawrence WR, Duarte-Sanmiguel S, Dathathreya K, Diaz-Starokozheva L, Harris HN, Sen CK, Valerio IL, Higuita-Castro N, Arnold WD, Kolb SJ, Gallego-Perez D. Nanochannel-Based Poration Drives Benign and Effective Nonviral Gene Delivery to Peripheral Nerve Tissue. ADVANCED BIOSYSTEMS 2020; 4:e2000157. [PMID: 32939985 PMCID: PMC7704786 DOI: 10.1002/adbi.202000157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2020] [Revised: 08/04/2020] [Accepted: 08/18/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
While gene and cell therapies have emerged as promising treatment strategies for various neurological conditions, heavy reliance on viral vectors can hamper widespread clinical implementation. Here, the use of tissue nanotransfection as a platform nanotechnology to drive nonviral gene delivery to nerve tissue via nanochannels, in an effective, controlled, and benign manner is explored. TNT facilitates plasmid DNA delivery to the sciatic nerve of mice in a voltage-dependent manner. Compared to standard bulk electroporation (BEP), impairment in toe-spread and pinprick response is not caused by TNT, and has limited to no impact on electrophysiological parameters. BEP, however, induces significant nerve damage and increases macrophage immunoreactivity. TNT is subsequently used to deliver vasculogenic cell therapies to crushed nerves via delivery of reprogramming factor genes Etv2, Foxc2, and Fli1 (EFF). The results indicate the TNT-based delivery of EFF in a sciatic nerve crush model leads to increased vascularity, reduced macrophage infiltration, and improved recovery in electrophysiological parameters compared to crushed nerves that are TNT-treated with sham/empty plasmids. Altogether, the results indicate that TNT can be a powerful platform nanotechnology for localized nonviral gene delivery to nerve tissue, in vivo, and the deployment of reprogramming-based cell therapies for nerve repair/regeneration.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jordan T. Moore
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | | | - Luke R. Lemmerman
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | | | - Daniel J. Dodd
- Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - William R. Lawrence
- Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Silvia Duarte-Sanmiguel
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Department of Human Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Kavya Dathathreya
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | | | - Hallie N. Harris
- Department of Neurology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Chandan K. Sen
- School of Medicine, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Ian L. Valerio
- Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Natalia Higuita-Castro
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Department of Surgery, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - W. David Arnold
- Department of Neurology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Stephen J. Kolb
- Department of Neurology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA
- Department of Biological Chemistry and Pharmacology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Daniel Gallego-Perez
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Department of Surgery, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
Chang L, Chitrakar C, Nouri M. 3D Nanochannel Electroporation for Macromolecular Nucleotide Delivery. Methods Mol Biol 2020; 2050:69-77. [PMID: 31468480 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-9740-4_7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Delivery of macromolecular nucleotides into the living cells holds a great promise for the development of new therapeutics. However, its abilities for adoptive immunotherapy, cell reprogramming, and primary cell transfection have been long-term hindered by the lack of a system that can locally deliver engineered therapeutic nucleotides (e.g., plasmids, siRNAs, miRNAs) without causing any side effects. In this chapter, the performance of a novel 3D nanoelectroporation system (3D NEP) is highlighted in three scenarios-adoptive immunotherapy, cell reprogramming, and adult mouse primary cardiomyocyte transfection. Detailed protocols were given to introduce the 3D NEP system assembly, as well as their applications in (1) natural killer (NK) cells transfection by delivery of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) plasmids; (2) mouse embryonic fibroblasts transfection with OSKM factors; and (3) miR-29b molecular beacon (BMs) delivery into primary cardiomyocytes for interrogating the side effect of miR-29b-assisted treatment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lingqian Chang
- School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, China.
- Institute of Nanotechnology for Single Cell Analysis (INSCA), Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, China.
| | - Chandani Chitrakar
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Texas, Denton, TX, USA
| | - Mehdi Nouri
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Texas, Denton, TX, USA
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
Qu Y, Zhang Y, Yu Q, Chen H. Surface-Mediated Intracellular Delivery by Physical Membrane Disruption. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2020; 12:31054-31078. [PMID: 32559060 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.0c06978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Effective and nondestructive intracellular delivery of exogenous molecules and other functional materials into living cells is of importance for diverse biological fundamental research and therapeutic applications, such as gene editing and cell-based therapies. However, for most exogenous molecules, the cell plasma membrane is effectively impermeable and thus remains the greatest barrier to intracellular delivery. In recent years, methods based on surface-mediated physical membrane disruption have attracted considerable attention. These methods exploit the physical properties of the surface to transiently increase the membrane permeability of cells come in contact thereto, thereby facilitating the efficient intracellular delivery of molecules regardless of molecule or target cell type. In this Review, we focus on recent progress, particularly over the past decade, on these surface-mediated membrane disruption-based delivery systems. According to the membrane disruption mechanism, three categories can be recognized: (i) mechanical penetration, (ii) electroporation, and (iii) photothermal poration. Each of these is discussed in turn and a brief perspective on future developments in this promising area is presented.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yangcui Qu
- State and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Novel Functional Polymeric Materials, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, P. R. China
| | - Yanxia Zhang
- Institute for Cardiovascular Science and Department of Cardiovascular Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215007, P. R. China
| | - Qian Yu
- State and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Novel Functional Polymeric Materials, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, P. R. China
| | - Hong Chen
- State and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Novel Functional Polymeric Materials, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, P. R. China
| |
Collapse
|
37
|
Early Intervention in Ischemic Tissue with Oxygen Nanocarriers Enables Successful Implementation of Restorative Cell Therapies. Cell Mol Bioeng 2020; 13:435-446. [PMID: 33184576 DOI: 10.1007/s12195-020-00621-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2020] [Accepted: 05/20/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Tissue ischemia contributes to necrosis and infection. While angiogenic cell therapies have emerged as a promising strategy against ischemia, current approaches to cell therapies face multiple hurdles. Recent advances in nuclear reprogramming could potentially overcome some of these limitations. However, under severely ischemic conditions necrosis could outpace reprogramming-based repair. As such, adjunctive measures are required to maintain a minimum level of tissue viability/activity for optimal response to restorative interventions. Methods Here we explored the combined use of polymerized hemoglobin (PolyHb)-based oxygen nanocarriers with Tissue Nano-Transfection (TNT)-driven restoration to develop tissue preservation/repair strategies that could potentially be used as a first line of care. Random-pattern cutaneous flaps were created in a mouse model of ischemic injury. PolyHbs with high and low oxygen affinity were synthesized and injected into the tissue flap at various timepoints of ischemic injury. The degree of tissue preservation was evaluated in terms of perfusion, oxygenation, and resulting necrosis. TNT was then used to deploy reprogramming-based vasculogenic cell therapies to the flaps via nanochannels. Reprogramming/repair outcomes were evaluated in terms of vascularity and necrosis. Results Flaps treated with PolyHbs exhibited a gradual decrease in necrosis as a function of time-to-intervention, with low oxygen affinity PolyHb showing the best outcomes. TNT-based intervention of the flap in combination with PolyHb successfully curtailed advanced necrosis compared to flaps treated with only PolyHb or TNT alone. Conclusions These results indicate that PolyHb and TNT technologies could potentially be synergistically deployed and used as early intervention measures to combat severe tissue ischemia.
Collapse
|
38
|
Ultrathin glass fiber microprobe for electroporation of arbitrary selected cell groups. Bioelectrochemistry 2020; 135:107545. [PMID: 32446151 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioelechem.2020.107545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2019] [Revised: 04/22/2020] [Accepted: 04/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
A new type of ultrathin fiber microprobe for selective electroporation is reported. The microprobe is 10 cm long and has a diameter of 350 µm. This microprobe is a low cost tool, which allows electroporation of an arbitrary selected single cell or groups of cells among population with use of a standard microscope and cell culture plates. The microprobe in its basic form contains two metal microelectrodes made of a silver-copper alloy, running along the fiber, each with a diameter of 23 µm. The probe was tested in vitro on a population of normal and cancer cells. Successful targeted electroporation was observed by means of accumulation of trypan blue (TB) dye marker in the cell. The electroporation phenomenon was also verified with propidium iodide and AnnexinV in fluorescent microscopy.
Collapse
|
39
|
Fajrial AK, He QQ, Wirusanti NI, Slansky JE, Ding X. A review of emerging physical transfection methods for CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing. Theranostics 2020; 10:5532-5549. [PMID: 32373229 PMCID: PMC7196308 DOI: 10.7150/thno.43465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2019] [Accepted: 03/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Gene editing is a versatile technique in biomedicine that promotes fundamental research as well as clinical therapy. The development of Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) as a genome editing machinery has accelerated the application of gene editing. However, the delivery of CRISPR components often suffers when using conventional transfection methods, such as viral transduction and chemical vectors, due to limited packaging size and inefficiency toward certain cell types. In this review, we discuss physical transfection methods for CRISPR gene editing which can overcome these limitations. We outline different types of physical transfection methods, highlight novel techniques to deliver CRISPR components, and emphasize the role of micro and nanotechnology to improve transfection performance. We present our perspectives on the limitations of current technology and provide insights on the future developments of physical transfection methods.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Apresio K. Fajrial
- Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA
| | - Qing Qing He
- Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA
| | - Nurul I. Wirusanti
- University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherland
| | - Jill E. Slansky
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA
| | - Xiaoyun Ding
- Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
Dixit HG, Starr R, Dundon ML, Pairs PI, Yang X, Zhang Y, Nampe D, Ballas CB, Tsutsui H, Forman SJ, Brown CE, Rao MP. Massively-Parallelized, Deterministic Mechanoporation for Intracellular Delivery. NANO LETTERS 2020; 20:860-867. [PMID: 31647675 PMCID: PMC8210888 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.9b03175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/14/2023]
Abstract
Microfluidic intracellular delivery approaches based on plasma membrane poration have shown promise for addressing the limitations of conventional cellular engineering techniques in a wide range of applications in biology and medicine. However, the inherent stochasticity of the poration process in many of these approaches often results in a trade-off between delivery efficiency and cellular viability, thus potentially limiting their utility. Herein, we present a novel microfluidic device concept that mitigates this trade-off by providing opportunity for deterministic mechanoporation (DMP) of cells en masse. This is achieved by the impingement of each cell upon a single needle-like penetrator during aspiration-based capture, followed by diffusive influx of exogenous cargo through the resulting membrane pore, once the cells are released by reversal of flow. Massive parallelization enables high throughput operation, while single-site poration allows for delivery of small and large-molecule cargos in difficult-to-transfect cells with efficiencies and viabilities that exceed both conventional and emerging transfection techniques. As such, DMP shows promise for advancing cellular engineering practice in general and engineered cell product manufacturing in particular.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Harish G. Dixit
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California – Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Renate Starr
- Department of Cancer Immunotherapy and Tumor Immunology, City of Hope Beckman Research Institute and Medical Center, Duarte, California 91010, United States
| | - Morgan L. Dundon
- Materials Science and Engineering Program, University of California – Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Pranee I. Pairs
- Materials Science and Engineering Program, University of California – Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Xin Yang
- Department of Cancer Immunotherapy and Tumor Immunology, City of Hope Beckman Research Institute and Medical Center, Duarte, California 91010, United States
| | - Yanyan Zhang
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California – Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Daniel Nampe
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California – Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, United States
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California – Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Christopher B. Ballas
- Division of Hematology/Oncology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana 46202, United States
| | - Hideaki Tsutsui
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California – Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, United States
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California – Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, United States
- Stem Cell Center, University of California – Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| | - Stephen J. Forman
- Department of Cancer Immunotherapy and Tumor Immunology, City of Hope Beckman Research Institute and Medical Center, Duarte, California 91010, United States
- Department of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, City of Hope Beckman Research Institute and Medical Center, Duarte, California 91010, United States
| | - Christine E. Brown
- Department of Cancer Immunotherapy and Tumor Immunology, City of Hope Beckman Research Institute and Medical Center, Duarte, California 91010, United States
- Department of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, City of Hope Beckman Research Institute and Medical Center, Duarte, California 91010, United States
| | - Masaru P. Rao
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California – Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, United States
- Materials Science and Engineering Program, University of California – Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, United States
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California – Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, United States
| |
Collapse
|
41
|
Duarte-Sanmiguel S, Higuita-Castro N, Gallego-Perez D. Nanoelectroporation and Collection of Genetically Modified Exosomes in Primary Cultures of Dendritic Cells. Methods Mol Biol 2020; 2050:79-84. [PMID: 31468481 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-9740-4_8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Dendritic cells (DCs) are cells of the immune system that behave as antigen presenters and assist in T cell activation. DCs have recently been used in cell-based immunotherapies for the treatment of different diseases due to the lack of adverse nonspecific immune responses, typically elicited by other approaches. Genetically modified DCs, for example, have been used to stimulate CD4/CD8 antigen presenting immune responses. However, genetic manipulation of primary DCs remains a challenge. Here we describe a protocol for nonviral, benign transfection of primary DCs using nanochannel-based electroporation, and the subsequent collection of genetically modified exosomes for downstream applications.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Duarte-Sanmiguel
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.,Department of Surgery, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Natalia Higuita-Castro
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.,Department of Surgery, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Daniel Gallego-Perez
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA. .,Department of Surgery, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
42
|
Dong Z, Jiao Y, Xie B, Hao Y, Wang P, Liu Y, Shi J, Chitrakar C, Black S, Wang YC, Lee LJ, Li M, Fan Y, Chang L. On-chip multiplexed single-cell patterning and controllable intracellular delivery. MICROSYSTEMS & NANOENGINEERING 2020; 6:2. [PMID: 34567617 PMCID: PMC8433345 DOI: 10.1038/s41378-019-0112-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2019] [Revised: 09/23/2019] [Accepted: 10/10/2019] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Conventional electroporation approaches show limitations in the delivery of macromolecules in vitro and in vivo. These limitations include low efficiency, noticeable cell damage and nonuniform delivery of cells. Here, we present a simple 3D electroporation platform that enables massively parallel single-cell manipulation and the intracellular delivery of macromolecules and small molecules. A pyramid pit micropore array chip was fabricated based on a silicon wet-etching method. A controllable vacuum system was adopted to trap a single cell on each micropore. Using this chip, safe single-cell electroporation was performed at low voltage. Cargoes of various sizes ranging from oligonucleotides (molecular beacons, 22 bp) to plasmid DNA (CRISPR-Cas9 expression vectors, >9 kb) were delivered into targeted cells with a significantly higher transfection efficiency than that of multiple benchmark methods (e.g., commercial electroporation devices and Lipofectamine). The delivered dose of the chemotherapeutic drug could be controlled by adjusting the applied voltage. By using CRISPR-Cas9 transfection with this system, the p62 gene and CXCR7 gene were knocked out in tumor cells, which effectively inhibited their cellular activity. Overall, this vacuum-assisted micropore array platform provides a simple, efficient, high-throughput intracellular delivery method that may facilitate on-chip cell manipulation, intracellular investigation and cancer therapy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zaizai Dong
- School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, 100083 Beijing, China
- Institute of Nanotechnology for Single Cell Analysis (INSCA), Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, Beihang University, 100083 Beijing, China
| | - Yanli Jiao
- College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611 USA
| | - Bingteng Xie
- Center for Reproductive Medicine, Peking University Third Hospital, 100191 Beijing, China
| | - Yongcun Hao
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Micro and Nano Systems for Aerospace, Northwestern Polytechnical University, 710072 Xi’an, China
| | - Pan Wang
- Center for Reproductive Medicine, Peking University Third Hospital, 100191 Beijing, China
| | - Yuanyuan Liu
- School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, 100083 Beijing, China
- Institute of Nanotechnology for Single Cell Analysis (INSCA), Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, Beihang University, 100083 Beijing, China
| | - Junfeng Shi
- Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43209 USA
| | - Chandani Chitrakar
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76207 USA
| | - Stephen Black
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76207 USA
| | - Yu-Chieh Wang
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX 76107 USA
| | - L. James Lee
- Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43209 USA
| | - Mo Li
- Center for Reproductive Medicine, Peking University Third Hospital, 100191 Beijing, China
| | - Yubo Fan
- School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, 100083 Beijing, China
- Institute of Nanotechnology for Single Cell Analysis (INSCA), Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, Beihang University, 100083 Beijing, China
| | - Lingqian Chang
- School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, 100083 Beijing, China
- Institute of Nanotechnology for Single Cell Analysis (INSCA), Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, Beihang University, 100083 Beijing, China
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76207 USA
| |
Collapse
|
43
|
Huang Y, Deng X, Liang J. Review of the Application of Nanovesicles and the Human Interstitial Fluid in Gastrointestinal Premalignant Lesion Detection, Diagnosis, Prognosis and Therapy. Int J Nanomedicine 2019; 14:9469-9482. [PMID: 31819444 PMCID: PMC6896916 DOI: 10.2147/ijn.s208559] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2019] [Accepted: 11/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Premalignant lesions arise from cells that abnormally proliferate and have a tendency to become cancerous. Developing methods to specifically target and remove these premalignant lesions is imperative to the prevention of malignant progression into gastrointestinal (GI) tumors. However, accurate detection and diagnosis of GI precancerous lesions is challenging, as these lesions show little or no structural change. Thus, this prevents early intervention and reduces the success rate of therapy. In this review, we performed a systematic analysis of the technological advancements in the combined application of nanovesicles (NVs) and the human interstitial fluid (HIF) to specifically target GI premalignant lesions. NVs, which include quantum dots (QDs), are small membranous vehicles of a nanometer diameter that are widely used as drug delivery vectors, therapeutic effectors and diagnostic sensors. HIF is the fluid that is present in human interstitial tissues (HITs) in which signaling molecules and agents travel and can be found throughout the body. HIF is exploited by tumor cells for their invasion, migration and spread. Because the HITs span the entire submucosa of the gastrointestinal tract, they have been increasingly targeted in GI tumor therapy. The challenges involved in the combined application of NVs and HIF in the detection, diagnosis, prognosis and therapy of GI premalignant lesions are also discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yu Huang
- Liuzhou Traditional Chinese Medical Hospital, Liuzhou 545001, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China
| | - Xin Deng
- Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning 530001, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China.,Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, People's Republic of China
| | - Jian Liang
- Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
Wen R, Zhang AH, Liu D, Feng J, Yang J, Xia D, Wang J, Li C, Zhang T, Hu N, Hang T, He G, Xie X. Intracellular Delivery and Sensing System Based on Electroplated Conductive Nanostraw Arrays. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2019; 11:43936-43948. [PMID: 31696695 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.9b15619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
One-dimensional nanoneedle-like arrays have emerged as an attractive tool for penetrating the cell membrane to achieve intracellular applications including drug delivery, electrical recording, and biochemical detection. Hollow nanoneedles, also called nanostraws (NSs), combined with nanoelectroporation have been demonstrated as a powerful platform for intracellular drug delivery and extraction of intracellular contents. However, the fabrication technique of nanostraws still requires complicated and expensive atomic layer deposition and etching processes and fails to produce conductive nanostraws. Herein, we developed a commonly accessible and versatile electrodeposition approach to controllably fabricate conductive nanostraw arrays based on various types of metal or conductive polymer materials. Representatively, Pt nanostraws (Pt NSs) with 400 nm diameter were further integrated with a low-voltage nanoelectroporation system to achieve cell detection, intracellular drug delivery, and sensing of intracellular enzymes. Both theoretical simulations and experimental results revealed that the conductive nanostraws in direct contact with cells could induce high-efficiency cell electroporation at relatively low voltage (∼5 V). Efficient delivery of reagents into live cells with spatial control and repeated extraction of intracellular enzymes (e.g., caspase-3) for temporal monitoring from the same set of cells were demonstrated. This work not only pioneers a new avenue for universal production of conductive nanostraws on a large scale but also presents great potential for developing nanodevices to achieve a variety of biomedical applications including cell re-engineering, cell-based therapy, and signaling pathway monitoring.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rui Wen
- State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Display Material and Technology, School of Electronics and Information Technology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University , Sun Yat-Sen University , Guangzhou 510006 , China
| | - Ai-Hua Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Display Material and Technology, School of Electronics and Information Technology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University , Sun Yat-Sen University , Guangzhou 510006 , China
| | - Di Liu
- Pritzker School of Medicine , University of Chicago , Chicago , Illinois 60637 , United States
| | - Jianming Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Display Material and Technology, School of Electronics and Information Technology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University , Sun Yat-Sen University , Guangzhou 510006 , China
| | - Jiang Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine , Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center , Guangzhou 510060 , China
| | - Dehua Xia
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering , Sun Yat-sen University , Guangzhou 510275 , China
| | - Ji Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Display Material and Technology, School of Electronics and Information Technology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University , Sun Yat-Sen University , Guangzhou 510006 , China
| | - Chunwei Li
- State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Display Material and Technology, School of Electronics and Information Technology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University , Sun Yat-Sen University , Guangzhou 510006 , China
| | - Tao Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Display Material and Technology, School of Electronics and Information Technology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University , Sun Yat-Sen University , Guangzhou 510006 , China
| | - Ning Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Display Material and Technology, School of Electronics and Information Technology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University , Sun Yat-Sen University , Guangzhou 510006 , China
| | - Tian Hang
- State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Display Material and Technology, School of Electronics and Information Technology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University , Sun Yat-Sen University , Guangzhou 510006 , China
| | - Gen He
- State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Display Material and Technology, School of Electronics and Information Technology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University , Sun Yat-Sen University , Guangzhou 510006 , China
| | - Xi Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Display Material and Technology, School of Electronics and Information Technology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University , Sun Yat-Sen University , Guangzhou 510006 , China
| |
Collapse
|
45
|
Abstract
Intracellular cargo delivery is an essential step in many biomedical applications including gene editing and biologics therapy. Examples of cargo include nucleic acids (RNA and DNA), proteins, small biomolecules, and drugs, which can vary substantially in terms of their sizes, charges, solubility, and stability. Viruses have been used traditionally to deliver nucleic acids into cells, but the method suffers from limitations such as small cargo size, safety concerns, and viral genome integration into host cells, all of which complicate therapeutic applications. Commercially available techniques using biochemicals and bulk electroporation are, in general, poorly compatible with primary cells such as human induced pluripotent stem cells and immune cells, which are increasingly important candidates for adoptive cell therapy. Nanostructures, with dimensions ranging from tens of nanometers to a few micrometers, may play a critical role in overcoming cellular manipulation and delivery challenges and provide a powerful alternative to conventional techniques. A critical feature that differentiates nanostructures from viral, biochemical, and bulk electroporation techniques is that they interface with cells at a scale measuring ten to hundreds of nanometers in size. This highly local interaction enables application of stronger and more direct stimuli such as mechanical force, heat, or electric fields than would be possible in a bulk treatment. Compared to popular viral, biochemical, and bulk electroporation methods, nanostructures were found to minimally perturb cells with cells remaining in good health during postdelivery culture. These advantages have enabled nanostructures such as nanowires and nanotubes to successfully interface with a wide variety of cells, including primary immune cells and cardiomyocytes, for in vitro and in vivo applications. This Account is focused on using nanostructures for cargo delivery into biological cells. In this Account, we will first outline the historical developments using nanostructures for interfacing with cells. We will highlight how mechanistic understanding of nano-bio interactions has evolved over the last decade and how this improved knowledge has motivated coupling of electric and magnetic fields to nanostructures to improve delivery outcomes. There will also be an in-depth discussion on the merits of nanostructures in comparison to conventional methods using viruses, biochemicals, and bulk electroporation. Finally, motivated by our observations on the lack of consistency in reporting key metrics such as efficiency in literature, we suggest a set of metrics for documenting experimental results with the aim to promote standardization in reporting and ease in comparing. We suggest the use of more sophisticated tools such as RNA transcriptomics for thorough assessment of cell perturbation attributed to intracellular delivery. We hope that this Account can effectively capture the progress of nanostructure-mediated cargo delivery and encourage new innovations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andy Tay
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States,Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, 117583 Singapore
| | - Nicholas Melosh
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States,Corresponding Author:
| |
Collapse
|
46
|
Soft Electroporation Through 3D Hollow Nanoelectrodes. Methods Mol Biol 2019. [PMID: 31468475 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-9740-4_2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register]
Abstract
Generally, electroporation of in vitro cells is performed under very high electric fields to overcome the physical barrier of plasma membrane. Since traditional electroporation techniques make use of very high voltages, which is critical to cell viability, this study presents a microfluidic platform able to perform cell membrane electroporation with the application of low voltages (1.5-2 V). The platform is manufactured based on the milling by mean of focused ionic beam, which offers an established approach to fabricate ordered arrays of 3D gold hollow nanoelectrodes protruding from an insulating substrate. The novelty of this fabrication relies on the fact that the nanoelectrodes used for electroporation are simultaneously metallic, hollow and communicate through its nanochannels with an isolated microfluidic chamber beneath the device. Adherent cultured cells on the nanoelectrodes can be electroporated in this platform, and molecules can be selectively delivered only inside the porated cells.
Collapse
|
47
|
3D Nanochannel Array for High-Throughput Cell Manipulation and Electroporation. Methods Mol Biol 2019. [PMID: 31468477 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-9740-4_4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register]
Abstract
Electroporation has been one of the most commonly used physical methods for gene/drug delivery. Compared to other nonviral counterparts, electroporation enables optimization of delivery efficiency by tuning the electric field applied on cells. Commercial electroporation, however, results in stochastic transfection and significant cellular damage mostly due to its "bulk" environment. In this chapter, we introduce nanoelectroporation (NEP) which has demonstrated living cell transfection in a highly controllable manner. In NEP, the electric field can be precisely focused on a single cell positioned on nanochannels. Safe single-cell electroporation as well as "electrophoretic" molecular delivery can be achieved on the same device. This system achieves significantly higher transfection efficiency and cellular viability than commercial systems. This device is unique in that it can efficiently deliver genetic molecules (e.g., DNAs, RNAs) that exceed 10 kbp in size. The NEP device based on a 3D nanochannel array prototype was fabricated using cleanroom techniques. For achieving precise cell to nanochannel pairing, three on-chip high-throughput manipulation technologies were developed, that is, magnetic tweezers (MT), dielectrophoresis (DEP), and thin-film microfluidics.
Collapse
|
48
|
Punjiya M, Nejad HR, Mathews J, Levin M, Sonkusale S. A flow through device for simultaneous dielectrophoretic cell trapping and AC electroporation. Sci Rep 2019; 9:11988. [PMID: 31427614 PMCID: PMC6700080 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-48198-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2019] [Accepted: 07/30/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Isolation of cells and their transfection in a controlled manner is an integral step in cell biotechnology. Electric field approaches such as dielectrophoresis (DEP) offers a more viable method for targeted immobilization of cells without any labels. For transfection of cells to incorporate exogenous materials, electrical methods such as electroporation, are preferred over chemical and viral delivery methods since they minimally affect cell viability and can target many types. However prior approaches to both methods required multiple excitation sources, an AC source for DEP-based trapping and another DC source for electroporation. In this paper, we present a first of its kind flow through lab-on-chip platform using a single AC excitation source for combined trapping using negative dielectrophoresis (nDEP) and AC electroporation. Use of AC fields for electroporation eliminates the unwanted side effects of electrolysis or joule heating at electrodes compared to DC electroporation. Adjusting the flow rate and the electrical parameters of the incident AC field precisely controls the operation (trap, trap with electroporation and release). The platform has been validated through trapping and simultaneous transfection of HEK-293 embryonic kidney cells with a plasmid vector containing a fluorescent protein tag. Numerical scaling analysis is provided that indicates promise for individual cell trapping and electroporation using low voltage AC fields.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Meera Punjiya
- Tufts University, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 161 College Ave, Medford, MA, 02155, USA.,Nano Lab, Advanced Technology Laboratory, 200 Boston Ave, Medford, MA, 02155, USA
| | - Hojatollah Rezaei Nejad
- Tufts University, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 161 College Ave, Medford, MA, 02155, USA.,Nano Lab, Advanced Technology Laboratory, 200 Boston Ave, Medford, MA, 02155, USA
| | - Juanita Mathews
- Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University, Department of Biology, Medford, MA, 02155, USA
| | - Michael Levin
- Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University, Department of Biology, Medford, MA, 02155, USA
| | - Sameer Sonkusale
- Tufts University, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 161 College Ave, Medford, MA, 02155, USA. .,Nano Lab, Advanced Technology Laboratory, 200 Boston Ave, Medford, MA, 02155, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
49
|
Abstract
Nanostructured devices are able to foster the technology for cell membrane poration. With the size smaller than a cell, nanostructures allow efficient poration on the cell membrane. Emerging nanostructures with various physical transduction have been demonstrated to accommodate effective intracellular delivery. Aside from improving poration and intracellular delivery performance, nanostructured devices also allow for the discovery of novel physiochemical phenomena and the biological response of the cell. This article provides a brief introduction to the principles of nanostructured devices for cell poration and outlines the intracellular delivery capability of the technology. In the future, we envision more exploration on new nanostructure designs and creative applications in biomedical fields.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Apresio K Fajrial
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, 80309 United States of America
| | | |
Collapse
|
50
|
Zhuang J, Wu DM, Xu H, Huang Y, Liu Y, Sun JY. Edge Effect in Hot Embossing and its Influence on Global Pattern Replication of Polymer-Based Microneedles. INT POLYM PROC 2019. [DOI: 10.3139/217.3726] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Hot embossing was used to fabricate a microneedle array on poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) substrates. Both experimental and numerical researches were carried out to investigate the whole formation process. The results showed that the edge effect would significantly influence the replication rate of final products. An optimization design of convex flow barrier was proposed to improve the replication efficiency and structure uniformity. Furthermore, optimum parameters of the flow barrier were found to be 2 mm in length and 0.2 mm in height. Reasonable high molding temperature and force were conducive to reduce the filling time and increase the average height of microneedles.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- J. Zhuang
- College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering , Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing , PRC
| | - D.-M. Wu
- College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering , Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing , PRC
- State Key Laboratory of Organic-Inorganic Composites , Beijing , PRC
| | - H. Xu
- College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering , Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing , PRC
| | - Y. Huang
- College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering , Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing , PRC
| | - Y. Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Organic-Inorganic Composites , Beijing , PRC
| | - J.-Y. Sun
- College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering , Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing , PRC
| |
Collapse
|