30 September 2009

Delivering therapeutic agents directly to infected cells

Using an RNA-powered nanomotor, University of Cincinnati (UC) biomedical engineering researchers have successfully developed an artificial pore able to transmit nanoscale material through a membrane.

In a study led by UC biomedical engineering professor Peixuan Guo, Ph.D., members of the UC team inserted the modified core of a nanomotor, a microscopic biological machine, into a lipid membrane.

The resulting channel enabled them to move both single- and double-stranded DNA through the membrane.

Since the genomic DNA of human, animals, plants, fungus, and bacteria are double stranded, the development of single pore system that can sequence double-stranded DNA is very important.

By being in a lipid sheet, the artificial membrane channel can load double-stranded DNA, drugs, or other therapeutic material into the liposome, other compartments, or potentially into a cell through the membrane.

The study is the next step in research on using nanomotors to package and deliver therapeutic agents directly to infected cells. Eventually, the team’s work could enable use of nanoscale medical devices to diagnose and treat diseases.

Funding for this study comes from the National Institutes of Health’s Nanomedicine Development Center.

For related information, go to www.isa.org/productivity.