Integrating Porous Silicon Nanoneedles within Medical Devices for Nucleic Acid Nanoinjection

Abstract

Porous silicon nanoneedles can interface with cells and tissues with minimal perturbation for high-throughput intracellular delivery and biosensing. Typically, nanoneedle devices are rigid, flat, and opaque, which limits their use for topical applications in the clinic. We have developed a robust, rapid, and precise substrate transfer approach to incorporate nanoneedles within diverse substrates of arbitrary composition, flexibility, curvature, transparency, and biodegradability. With this approach, we integrated nanoneedles on medically relevant elastomers, hydrogels, plastics, medical bandages, catheter tubes, and contact lenses. The integration retains the mechanical properties and transfection efficiency of the nanoneedles. Transparent devices enable the live monitoring of cell−nanoneedle interactions. Flexible devices interface with tissues for efficient, uniform, and sustained topical delivery of nucleic acids ex vivo and in vivo. The versatility of this approach highlights the opportunity to integrate nanoneedles within existing medical devices to develop advanced platforms for topical delivery and biosensing.