Ultrahigh Efficiency and Minimalist Intracellular Delivery of Macromolecules Mediated by Latent-Photothermal Surfaces

Abstract

Intracellular delivery of exogenous macromolecules by photothermal methods is still not widely employed despite its universal and clear effect on cell membrane rupture. The main causes are the unsatisfactory delivery efficiency, poor cell activity, poor cell harvest, and sophisticated operation; these challenges stem from the difficulty of simply controlling laser hotspots. Here, we constructed latent-photothermal surfaces based on multiwall carbon nanotube-doped poly(dimethyl siloxane), which can deliver cargoes with high delivery efficiency and cell viability. Also, cell release and harvest efficiencies were not affected by coordinating the hotspot content and surface structure. This system is suitable for use with a wide range of cell lines, including hard-to-transfect types. The delivery efficiency and cell viability were shown to be greater than 85 and 80%, respectively, and the cell release and harvest efficiency were greater than 95 and 80%, respectively. Moreover, this system has potential application prospects in the field of cell therapy, including stem cell neural differentiation and dendritic cell vaccines.

Advances and Challenges of Stimuli-Responsive Nucleic Acids Delivery System in Gene Therapy

“…Many nanoparticles including organic or inorganic nanoparticles possess extraordinary photothermal or photodynamic characteristics [ 100 , 142 , 143 , 144 ], making light an attractive stimulus to control the gene delivery. Light of various wavelengths has been used in light-controlled nanocarriers, including ultraviolet light [ 145 ], visible light [ 146 , 147 ] and near-infrared (NIR) light [ 148 ].…”

Universal Strategy of Efficient Intracellular Macromolecule Directional Delivery Using Photothermal Pump Patch

“…[18,19,22] Recent studies have shown that photothermal methods have an excellent membrane rupture efficiency, and can promote exosome secretion by heat. [23][24][25][26][27] The above advantages suggest that the photothermal method has a high potential in intracellular delivery in vitro/vivo in a nondestructive and highly efficient manner. However, compared to electroporation, the photothermal method is difficult to drive the directional transmission of exogenous molecules, which limits the intracellular delivery efficiency.…”

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

“…Different from carrier-mediated methods, membrane disruption-mediated methods deliver exogenous cargos into cell interior via permeabilization or creation of transient “holes” on the cell membrane by chemical, mechanical, or field-assisted means, providing a nearly universal approach regardless of the properties of delivered cargoes and targeted cells. − Of those, photothermal-poration based methods are promising, which involve the transient permeabilization of cell membrane using the heat converted by the photothermal agents (PTAs) from the light (usually near-infrared (NIR) light). − For example, gold nanoparticles (GNPs), as efficient PTAs, have been exploited for intracellular delivery. , By attaching GNPs to the cell surface, the photothermal poration effect could be achieved under NIR irradiation, facilitating the entry of external molecules into cytoplasm. − Although the GNPs-based technology has shown broad applicability across diverse delivered molecules and cell types, it should be noted that after delivery most of the GNPs remained on the cell surface even after rigorous washing, and some GNPs and their small fragments entered the cells along with the cargos, which might compromise cell viability and cause possible side effects . To solve this limitation, some photothermal electrospun nanofibers were developed by embedding PTAs inside the nanofibers to avoid direct contact between PTAs and cells. , However, harvesting the “engineered” cells nontraumatically and effectively from these nanofibers became a new challenge.…”