Laser-induced remote release in vivo in C. elegans from novel silver nanoparticles-alginate hydrogel shells

Abstract

Non-destructive, controllable, remote light-induced release inside cells enables studying time- and space-specific processes in biology. In this work we demonstrate the remote release of tagged proteins in Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) worms using a near-infrared laser light as a trigger from novel hydrogel shells functionalized with silver nanoparticles responsive to laser light. A new type of hydrogel shells was developed capable of withstanding prolonged storage in the lyophilized state to enable the uptake of the shell by worms, which takes place on an agar plate under standard culture conditions. Uptake of the shells by C. elegans was confirmed using confocal laser scanning microscopy, while release from alginate shells in C. elegans and the laser effect on the shells on a substrate in air was followed using fluorescence microscopy. In addition, Raman microscopy was used to track the localization of particles to avoid the influence of autofluorescence. Hierarchical cluster spectral analysis is used to extract information about the biochemical composition of an area of a nematode containing the hydrogel shells, whose Raman signal is enhanced by the SERS (Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering) effect due to hot spots formed by silver nanoparticles present in the shells. The in vivo release demonstrated here can be used to study intestinal microbiota and probiotic compounds as well as a possible future strategy for gene delivery in the worms, other insects and other organisms.

Optically responsive delivery platforms: from the design considerations to biomedical applications

“…In recent studies, Au nanorods were also employed to induce noninvasive release of drugs from polymer capsules in vivo. Upon NIR irradiation at used laser power density 0.54 J cm −1 DOX was released inside bearing nude mice [203,204]. Unusual shape of light-sensitive drug carriers was reported by Wu et al [205], where polymer tubes were functionalised with Au NPs.…”

Hierarchy of Hybrid Materials—The Place of Inorganics-in-Organics in it, Their Composition and Applications

“…One of the first applications of release from microcapsules was of that inside living cells (Skirtach et al, 2006), which later on led to the investigation of the surface presentation of peptides relevant to immunology (Palankar et al, 2009). Subsequently, release was conducted in organisms, i.e., inside Hydra (Anbrosone et al, 2016) and C. elegans worms (Lengert et al, 2018). In addition to nanoplasmonics, magnetic nanoparticles have been used to induce release by a magnetic field.…”

Development of silver nanoparticle-based hydrogel composites for antimicrobial activity

“…Hydrogels are 3-dimensionally interconnected hydrophilic polymers, which can absorb an extensive amount of water within the structures without being dissolved in water. Since the chemical, electrical, and mechanical properties of polymer hydrogels could be quite analogous with those present in biological tissues, there have been extensive efforts to utilize the hydrogels in biological applications such as drug delivery (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12), wound/burn dressing (13,14), scaffolds for tissue engineering (15)(16)(17), and others (18)(19)(20)(21). In particular, the inclusion of drugs inside polymer hydrogels may represent an innovative drug delivery system because the release rate of the loaded drugs can be regulated by external stimuli (1,2,(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9).…”