A Photothermal Nanoplatform with Sugar-Triggered Cleaning Ability for High-Efficiency Intracellular Delivery

Abstract

Intracellular delivery of functional molecules is of great importance in various biomedical and biotechnology applications. Recently, nanoparticle-based photothermal poration has attracted increasing attention because it provided a facile and efficient method to permeabilize cells transiently, facilitating the entry of exogenous molecules into cells. However, this method still has some safety concerns associated with the nanoparticles that bind to the cell membranes or enter the cells. Herein, a nanoplatform with both photothermal property and sugar-triggered cleaning ability for intracellular delivery is developed based on phenylboronic acid (PBA) functionalized porous magnetic nanoparticles (named as M-PBA). The M-PBA particles could bind to the target cells effectively through the specific interactions between PBA groups and the cis-diol containing components on the cell membrane. During a short-term near-infrared irradiation, the bound particles convert absorbed light energy to heat, enabling high-efficiency delivery of various exogenous molecules into the target cells via a photothermal poration mechanism. After delivery, the bound particles could be easily “cleaned” from the cell surface via mild sugar-treatment and collected by a magnet, avoiding the possible side effects caused by the entrance of particles or their fragments. The delivery and cleaning process is short and effective without compromising the viability and proliferation ability of the cells with delivered molecules, suggesting that the M-PBA particles could be used as promising intracellular delivery agents with a unique combination of efficiency, safety, and flexibility.

Nordihydroguaiaretic Acid-Cross-Linked Phenylboronic Acid-Functionalized Polyplex Micelles for Anti-angiogenic Gene Therapy of Orthotopic and Metastatic Tumors

“…26,27 In particular, there has been rising interest in utilizing phenylboronic acid (PBA) and its derivatives as functional components in fabrication of nonviral gene delivery systems. 28,29 These components are acknowledged to exist in equilibrium as the uncharged trivalent form and the negatively charged tetravalent form in aqueous milieu. 30,31 Of note, the tetravalent boronate could selectively form stable ester linkage with diols, particularly favorable in a physiological or relatively alkaline microenvironment.…”

Dual-targeted poly(amino acid) nanoparticles deliver drug combinations on-site: an intracellular synergistic strategy to eliminate intracellular bacteria

“…A drug delivery system (DDS) can overcome the cell membrane barrier and has great advantages in the treatment of intracellular infections. [35][36][37][38][39] For instance, Natas ˇa S ˇkalko-Basnet designed a liposomal vesicle that effectively increases antibiotic accumulation in host cells. 40 Zhang and co-workers proposed a bacteria-responsive biomimetic polymeric nanoplatform that directly releases clarithromycin at the location of intracellular bacteria.…”

Enhanced Intracellular Delivery and Cell Harvest Using a Candle Soot-Based Photothermal Platform with Dual-Stimulus Responsiveness

“…Intracellular delivery introduces exogenous cargoes, such as bioactive molecules and functional materials, into cells to regulate their behaviors and engineer their properties. , As most delivered “cargoes” are membrane-impermeable, different intracellular delivery strategies have been developed. − Among them, photothermal-induced membrane disruption delivery is attractive, which is based on photothermal thermal agents (PTAs) to convert light energy into heat to dissociate the phospholipid bilayer or generate smaller sized transient “holes” in the cell membrane of adjacent cells, providing a direct and rapid way to deliver cargo into cells. − Compared with other delivery methods, it has several advantageous features, such as ease of operation, simple equipment, and good control of delivery spatiotemporally. Photothermal surfaces with immobilized/embedded PTAs show high-efficiency delivery because of the enhanced interaction between cells and PTAs .…”