UNS: Intracellular Drug Delivery Mediated by Laser-activated Nanoparticles

Georgia Tech Research Corporation, Atlanta GA

Investigators

Abstract

CBET - 1510028 PI: Prausnitz, Mark This project will explore a novel way to make cell membranes temporarily permeable so that drug molecules are able to enter the cell and carry out their therapeutic functions. The method relies on irradiating nanoparticles interspersed between the cells with pulsed laser energy. Preliminary data show that irradiating the nanoparticles leads to a significant increase in the cellular uptake of a fluorescent molecule without loss of cell viability. The research could lead to a new way to enhance the delivery of biomolecules to targeted cells for therapeutic, diagnostic and laboratory applications. This project will test the hypothesis that the laser energy raises the nanoparticle temperature and vaporizes surrounding liquid, producing local stress fields that can temporarily and non-destructively permeabilize cell membranes, thereby allowing intracellular uptake of exogenous molecules by living cells. A series of experiments will quantify the spatio-temporal characteristics of the forms of energy released by laser-activated nanoparticles to test the hypothesis that the dominant characteristic of energy transduction by a nanoparticle is the rapid generation of an enveloping vapor bubble that condenses slowly after formation. The research also will determine which features of the particle transduction outputs correlate to high intracellular uptake and cell viability to test the hypothesis that cellular bioeffects are controlled by acoustic and thermal effects occurring on the scale of a cell diameter.