Issue 20, 2018

Rock the nucleus: significantly enhanced nuclear membrane permeability and gene transfection by plasmonic nanobubble induced nanomechanical transduction

Abstract

Efficient delivery to the cell nucleus remains a significant challenge for many biomolecules, including anticancer drugs, proteins and DNAs. Despite numerous attempts to improve nuclear import including the use of nuclear localization signal (NLS) peptides and nanoparticle carriers, they are limited by the nanoparticle size, conjugation method, dependence on the functional nuclear import and intracellular trafficking mechanisms. To overcome these limitations, here we report that the nanomechanical force from plasmonic nanobubbles increases nuclear membrane permeability and promotes universal uptake of macromolecules into the nucleus, including macromolecules that are larger than the nuclear pore complex and would otherwise not enter the nucleus. Importantly, we show that plasmonic nanobubble-induced nanomechanical transduction significantly improves gene transfection and protein expression, compared to standard electroporation treatment alone. This novel nanomechanical transduction increases the size range and is broadly applicable for macromolecule delivery to the cell nucleus, leading to new opportunities and applications including for gene therapy and anticancer drug delivery.

Graphical abstract: Rock the nucleus: significantly enhanced nuclear membrane permeability and gene transfection by plasmonic nanobubble induced nanomechanical transduction

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
15 Dec 2017
Accepted
16 Jan 2018
First published
16 Jan 2018

Chem. Commun., 2018,54, 2479-2482

Rock the nucleus: significantly enhanced nuclear membrane permeability and gene transfection by plasmonic nanobubble induced nanomechanical transduction

X. Li, P. Kang, Z. Chen, S. Lal, L. Zhang, J. J. Gassensmith and Z. Qin, Chem. Commun., 2018, 54, 2479 DOI: 10.1039/C7CC09613E

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