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Mirkhani N, Christiansen MG, Gwisai T, Menghini S, Schuerle S. Spatially selective delivery of living magnetic microrobots through torque-focusing. Nat Commun 2024; 15:2160. [PMID: 38461256 PMCID: PMC10924878 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46407-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Rotating magnetic fields enable biomedical microrobots to overcome physiological barriers and promote extravasation and accumulation in tumors. Nevertheless, targeting deeply situated tumors requires suppression of off-target actuation in healthy tissue. Here, we investigate a control strategy for applying spatially selective torque density to microrobots by combining rotating fields with magnetostatic selection fields. Taking magnetotactic bacteria as diffuse torque-based actuators, we numerically model off-target torque suppression, indicating the feasibility of centimeter to millimeter resolution for human applications. We study focal torque application in vitro, observing off-target suppression of actuation-dependent effects such as colonization of bacteria in tumor spheroids. We then design and construct a mouse-scale torque-focusing apparatus capable of maneuvering the focal point. Applying this system to a mouse tumor model increased accumulation of intravenously injected bacteria within tumors receiving focused actuation compared to non-actuated or globally actuated groups. This control scheme combines the advantages of torque-based actuation with spatial targeting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nima Mirkhani
- Institute for Translational Medicine, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, CH-8092, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Michael G Christiansen
- Institute for Translational Medicine, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, CH-8092, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Tinotenda Gwisai
- Institute for Translational Medicine, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, CH-8092, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Stefano Menghini
- Institute for Translational Medicine, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, CH-8092, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Simone Schuerle
- Institute for Translational Medicine, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, CH-8092, Zurich, Switzerland.
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Gwisai T, Mirkhani N, Christiansen MG, Nguyen TT, Ling V, Schuerle S. Magnetic torque–driven living microrobots for increased tumor infiltration. Sci Robot 2022; 7:eabo0665. [DOI: 10.1126/scirobotics.abo0665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Biohybrid bacteria–based microrobots are increasingly recognized as promising externally controllable vehicles for targeted cancer therapy. Magnetic fields in particular have been used as a safe means to transfer energy and direct their motion. Thus far, the magnetic control strategies used in this context rely on poorly scalable magnetic field gradients, require active position feedback, or are ill-suited to diffuse distributions within the body. Here, we present a magnetic torque–driven control scheme for enhanced transport through biological barriers that complements the innate taxis toward tumor cores exhibited by a range of bacteria, shown for
Magnetospirillum magneticum
as a magnetically responsive model organism. This hybrid control strategy is readily scalable, independent of position feedback, and applicable to bacterial microrobots dispersed by the circulatory system. We observed a fourfold increase in translocation of magnetically responsive bacteria across a model of the vascular endothelium and found that the primary mechanism driving increased transport is torque-driven surface exploration at the cell interface. Using spheroids as a three-dimensional tumor model, fluorescently labeled bacteria colonized their core regions with up to 21-fold higher signal in samples exposed to rotating magnetic fields. In addition to enhanced transport, we demonstrated that our control scheme offers further advantages, including the possibility for closed-loop optimization based on inductive detection, as well as spatially selective actuation to reduce off-target effects. Last, after systemic intravenous injection in mice, we showed significantly increased bacterial tumor accumulation, supporting the feasibility of deploying this control scheme clinically for magnetically responsive biohybrid microrobots.
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Affiliation(s)
- T. Gwisai
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Institute for Translational Medicine, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - N. Mirkhani
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Institute for Translational Medicine, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - M. G. Christiansen
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Institute for Translational Medicine, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - T. T. Nguyen
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Institute for Translational Medicine, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - V. Ling
- Takeda Pharmaceuticals, 40 Landsdowne St., Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - S. Schuerle
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Institute for Translational Medicine, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
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Menghini S, Ho PS, Gwisai T, Schuerle S. Magnetospirillum magneticum as a Living Iron Chelator Induces TfR1 Upregulation and Decreases Cell Viability in Cancer Cells. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22020498. [PMID: 33419059 PMCID: PMC7825404 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22020498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2020] [Revised: 12/23/2020] [Accepted: 01/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Interest has grown in harnessing biological agents for cancer treatment as dynamic vectors with enhanced tumor targeting. While bacterial traits such as proliferation in tumors, modulation of an immune response, and local secretion of toxins have been well studied, less is known about bacteria as competitors for nutrients. Here, we investigated the use of a bacterial strain as a living iron chelator, competing for this nutrient vital to tumor growth and progression. We established an in vitro co-culture system consisting of the magnetotactic strain Magnetospirillum magneticum AMB-1 incubated under hypoxic conditions with human melanoma cells. Siderophore production by 108 AMB-1/mL in human transferrin (Tf)-supplemented media was quantified and found to be equivalent to a concentration of 3.78 µM ± 0.117 µM deferoxamine (DFO), a potent drug used in iron chelation therapy. Our experiments revealed an increased expression of transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1) and a significant decrease of cancer cell viability, indicating the bacteria’s ability to alter iron homeostasis in human melanoma cells. Our results show the potential of a bacterial strain acting as a self-replicating iron-chelating agent, which could serve as an additional mechanism reinforcing current bacterial cancer therapies.
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Schuerle S, Furubayashi M, Soleimany AP, Gwisai T, Huang W, Voigt C, Bhatia SN. Genetic Encoding of Targeted Magnetic Resonance Imaging Contrast Agents for Tumor Imaging. ACS Synth Biol 2020; 9:392-401. [PMID: 31922737 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.9b00416] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Tumor-selective contrast agents have the potential to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer using noninvasive imaging modalities such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Such contrast agents can consist of magnetic nanoparticles incorporating functionalities that respond to cues specific to tumor environments. Genetically engineering magnetotactic bacteria to display peptides has been investigated as a means to produce contrast agents that combine the robust image contrast effects of magnetosomes with the transgenic-targeting peptides displayed on their surface. This work reports the first use of magnetic nanoparticles that display genetically encoded pH low insertion peptide (pHLIP), a long peptide intended to enhance MRI contrast by targeting the extracellular acidity associated with the tumors. To demonstrate the modularity of this versatile platform to incorporate diverse targeting ligands by genetic engineering, we also incorporated the cyclic αv integrin-binding peptide iRGD into separate magnetosomes. Specifically, we investigate their potential for enhanced binding and tumor imaging both in vitro and in vivo. Our experiments indicate that these tailored magnetosomes retain their magnetic properties, making them well suited as T2 contrast agents, while exhibiting an increased binding compared to the binding in wild-type magnetosomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Schuerle
- Institute for Translational Medicine, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Maiko Furubayashi
- Synthetic Biology Center, Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- Bioproduction Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Sapporo 062-8517, Japan
| | - Ava P. Soleimany
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- Harvard Graduate Program in Biophysics, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Tinotenda Gwisai
- Institute for Translational Medicine, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Wei Huang
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Christopher Voigt
- Synthetic Biology Center, Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Sangeeta N. Bhatia
- Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- Marble Center for Cancer Nanomedicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
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Gwisai T, Hollingsworth NR, Cowles S, Tharmalingam N, Mylonakis E, Fuchs BB, Shukla A. Repurposing niclosamide as a versatile antimicrobial surface coating against device-associated, hospital-acquired bacterial infections. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017; 12:045010. [PMID: 28471351 DOI: 10.1088/1748-605x/aa7105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Device-associated and hospital-acquired infections remain amongst the greatest challenges in regenerative medicine. Furthermore, the rapid emergence of antibiotic resistance and lack of new classes of antibiotics has made the treatment of these bacterial infections increasingly difficult. The repurposing of Food and Drug Administration approved drugs for antimicrobial therapies is a powerful means of reducing the time and cost associated with drug discovery and development. In this work, niclosamide, a commercially available anthelmintic drug with recently identified antimicrobial properties, was found to prevent the formation of, and combat existing biofilms of, several relevant Gram-positive bacteria, namely strains of Staphylococcus aureus, including methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA), and Staphylococcus epidermidis, all common causes of hospital-acquired and device-associated infections. This anti-biofilm activity was demonstrated at niclosamide concentrations as low as 0.01 μg ml-1. We then assessed niclosamide activity as an antibacterial coating, which could potentially be applied to medical device surfaces. We developed solvent cast niclosamide coatings on a variety of surfaces common amongst medical devices including glass, titanium, stainless steel, and aluminum. Niclosamide-coated surfaces exhibited potent in vitro activity against S. aureus, MRSA, and S. epidermidis. At niclosamide surface concentrations as low as 1.6 × 10-2 μg mm-2, the coatings prevented attachment of these bacteria. The coatings also cleared bacteria inoculated suspensions at niclosamide surface concentrations of 3.1 × 10-2 μg mm-2. Hemolysis was not observed at any of the antimicrobial coating concentrations tested. We report a facile, effective means of coating devices with niclosamide to both clear and prevent biofilm formation of common bacteria encountered in hospital-acquired and device-associated infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tinotenda Gwisai
- School of Engineering, Center for Biomedical Engineering, Institute for Molecular and Nanoscale Innovation, Brown University, 182 Hope St, Box D, Providence, RI 02912, United States of America
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