Scientists create tiny backpacks for cells
November 5, 2008 By Anne Trafton
MIT researchers have developed a technique to attach tiny polymer "backpacks" to cells. This immune system cells, a B lymphocyte sports one. The scale bar is 10 micrometers. Image courtesy / American Chemical Society
(PhysOrg.com) -- MIT engineers have outfitted cells with tiny “backpacks” that could allow them to deliver chemotherapy agents, diagnose tumors or become building blocks for tissue engineering.
Michael Rubner, director of MIT’s Center for Materials Science and Engineering and senior author of a paper on the work that appeared online in Nano Letters on Nov. 5, said he believes this is the first time anyone has attached such a synthetic patch to a cell.
The polymer backpacks allow researchers to use cells to ferry tiny cargoes and manipulate their movements using magnetic fields. Since each patch covers only a small portion of the cell surface, it does not interfere with the cell’s normal functions or prevent it from interacting with the external environment.
“The goal is to perturb the cell as little as possible,” said Robert Cohen, the St. Laurent Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT and an author of the paper.
The researchers worked with B and T cells, two types of immune cells that can home to various tissues in the body, including tumors, infection sites, and lymphoid tissues — a trait that could be exploited to achieve targeted drug or vaccine delivery.
“The idea is that we use cells as vectors to carry materials to tumors, infection sites or other tissue sites,” said Darrell Irvine, an author of the paper and associate professor of materials science and engineering and biological engineering.
Cellular backpacks carrying chemotherapy agents could target tumor cells, while cells equipped with patches carrying imaging agents could help identify tumors by binding to protein markers expressed by cancer cells.
Another possible application is in tissue engineering. Patches could be designed that allow researchers to align cells in a certain pattern, eliminating the need for a tissue scaffold.
The polymer patch system consists of three layers, each with a different function, stacked onto a surface. The bottom layer tethers the polymer to the surface, the middle layer contains the payload, and the top layer serves as a “hook” that catches and binds cells.
Once the layers are set up, cells enter the system and flow across the surface, getting stuck on the polymer hooks. The patch is then detached from the surface by simply lowering the temperature, and the cells float away, with backpacks attached.
“The rest of the cell is untouched and able to interact with the environment,” said Albert Swiston, lead author of the paper and a graduate student in materials science and engineering.
The researchers found that T cells with backpacks were able to perform their normal functions, including migrating across a surface, just as they would without anything attached.
By loading the backpacks with magnetic nanoparticles, the researchers can control the cells’ movement with a magnetic field.
Because the polymer synthesis and assembly takes place before the patches are attached to cells, there is plenty of opportunity to tweak the process to improve the polymers’ effectiveness and ensure they won’t be toxic to cells, the researchers say.
Other authors of the paper are Soong Ho Um, a postdoctoral associate in the Departments of Materials Science and Engineering and Biological Engineering, and Connie Cheng, a recent Harvard graduate.
The research was funded by the National Science Foundation Materials Research Science and Engineering Center and an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship.
Provided by NIT
-
Engineers find inspiration for new materials in Piranha-proof armor
16 hours ago |
4.3 / 5 (3) |
2
-
Harnessing plasmonics, engineers weld nanowires with light
Feb 06, 2012 |
4.8 / 5 (11) |
1
-
Scientists make strides toward fixing infant hearts
Feb 06, 2012 |
4.7 / 5 (3) |
0
-
Smallest tools could give biggest results in bone repair
Feb 06, 2012 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Photovoltaic panels made from plant material could become a cheap alternative to traditional solar cells
Feb 03, 2012 |
4.8 / 5 (9) |
0
-
Engineers build first sub-10-nm carbon nanotube transistor
Feb 01, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (31) |
30
-
Something old, something new: Evolution and the structural divergence of duplicate genes
Jan 31, 2012 |
4.6 / 5 (7) |
1
-
The hidden nanoworld of ice crystals: Revealing the dynamic behavior of quasi-liquid layers
Jan 30, 2012 |
5 / 5 (3) |
1
-
Stock market network reveals investor clustering
Jan 27, 2012 |
3.9 / 5 (23) |
8
-
Of microchemistry and molecules: Electronic microfluidic device synthesizes biocompatible probes
Jan 26, 2012 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
-
polymer nanocomposites
11 hours ago
-
Corrosion Tests on Magnesium
Feb 09, 2012
-
polyethylene copper nanocomposite
Feb 09, 2012
-
Output of xrd analysis
Feb 08, 2012
-
Transport phenomena problem based on problems 18.B11 and 19B.6 from Bird, stewart, lw
Feb 06, 2012
-
Help with material selection - Car Piston
Feb 05, 2012
- More from Physics Forums - Materials & Chemical Engineering
More news stories
What lies beneath: Mapping hidden nanostructures
The ability to diagnose and predict the properties of materials is vital, particularly in the expanding field of nanotechnology. Electron and atom-probe microscopy can categorize atoms in thin sheets of material, ...
4 hours ago |
5 / 5 (1) |
1
'Dark plasmons' transmit energy
Microscopic channels of gold nanoparticles have the ability to transmit electromagnetic energy that starts as light and propagates via "dark plasmons," according to researchers at Rice University.
20 hours ago |
5 / 5 (6) |
1
|
New kind of solar cell could capture significantly more energy than current cells
New solar cells could increase the maximum efficiency of solar panels by over 25%, according to scientists from the University of Cambridge.
Feb 08, 2012 |
4.5 / 5 (12) |
14
|
Nanoshell whispering galleries improve thin solar panels
Visitors to Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol Building may have experienced a curious acoustic feature that allows a person to whisper softly at one side of the cavernous, half-domed room and for another on ...
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Feb 07, 2012 |
4.3 / 5 (6) |
6
|
Nanotube therapy takes aim at breast cancer stem cells
Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center researchers have again proven that injecting multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) into tumors and heating them with a quick, 30-second laser treatment can kill them.
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Feb 09, 2012 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
|
Putting the squeeze on planets outside our solar system
(PhysOrg.com) -- Using high-powered lasers, scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and collaborators discovered that molten magnesium silicate undergoes a phase change in the liquid state, abruptly ...
India probes Google over 'forex transactions'
Indian authorities are probing whether online giant Google broke domestic foreign-exchange transactions rules while shifting funds abroad, the Press Trust of India reported on Friday.
Germany freezes signing of disputed Internet pact
Germany on Friday halted the signing of a controversial international accord billed as a way to beat online piracy that has sparked angry protests, saying it needed more time to consider it.
Health experts, scientists to discuss bird flu studies
The World Health Organization said Friday it will meet next week to determine whether scientists can publish research on a bird flu virus that may be easily passed among humans.
Employers feel no love for unscrupulous practice of 'service sweethearting'
A new study led by two Florida State University marketing professors finds that some frontline service employees who are rewarded for hikes in customer loyalty and satisfaction also may engage in "service ...
Obama forges compromise birth control plan
US President Barack Obama Friday announced a compromise to defuse a row over access to birth control which prompted election-year Republican critics to claim he was waging a war on religion.
Nov 05, 2008
Rank: not rated yet
Nov 06, 2008
Rank: not rated yet