There are many ways to deliver biomolecules to cells past their cell membrane barrier, but the field of laser-activated materials have helped further the drug delivery field. When nanostructure and materials are irradiated by pulsed laser in an aqueous environment, thermoplasmonic effects and localized heating occur. There are also pressure waves being generated, with the quantity of impulse varying due to laser-parameter and surface type. We demonstrate the relationship between the magnitude of impulse, generated from gold thermoplasmonic nanostructure and bulk polymer substrates, and cargo delivery in cells.
One major barrier to advancing fundamental studies of biological cargoes for clinical use has been effective delivery into the cytoplasm. Available methods such as electroporation, viral techniques, and liposomal reagents come with respective strengths and weaknesses depending on the application needs. We present a laser-based cargo delivery platform that combines 11-ns laser pulses and structured flexible polymer substrates to create transient pores in the plasma membrane of cells. Cells are grown on the substrates, and pores are induced form on the cells in the regions excited with nanosecond laser pulses—thus, allowing treatment selectivity in a population. The medium surrounding the cell contains the delivery cargoes in solution, and cargoes diffuse into the cell before the transient pores are sealed. Polymer-based substrates are a promising material for laser-based delivery methods because they are low-cost, have flexible spatial movements, and have simple fabrication techniques. We deliver cargos of various sizes. We use fluorescence imaging and flow cytometry to quantify the delivery efficiency and viability in a reproducible manner. We obtain delivery efficiencies of up to 40% with viabilities of 60% for calcein green in adherent cells such as HeLa and Panc-1. We also deliver molecules of up to 40 kDas and siRNA. We use scanning electron microscopy to study cell adherence and substrate surface morphology. Our data shows that polymer-based substrates can deliver biological material directly into cells in a cost-effective manner.
Gold nanoparticle mediated laser stimulation of neuronal cells allows for cell activation on a single-cell level. It could therefore be considered an alternative to classical electric neurostimulation. The physiological impact of this new approach has not been intensively studied so far. Here, we investigate the targeted cell’s reaction to a laser stimulus based on its calcium response. A complex cellular reaction involving multiple sources has been revealed.
Photothermal manipulation of cells via heating of gold nanoparticles has proven to be an efficient tool for molecular delivery into cells via cell perforation with short laser pulses. We investigated a potential extension of this technique for cell stimulation of cardiomyocytes using a 532 nm and 850 ps laser system and a surface concentration of 0.5 μg/cm2 of 200 nm gold nanoparticles. The gold nanoparticles were unspecifically attached to the cardiomyocytes after an incubation period of three hours. The laser irradiation leads to a temperature rise directly at the particles of several hundred degrees K which evokes bubble formation and membrane perforation. We examined the effect of laser based photothermal manipulation at different laser powers, with different calcium concentrations, and for a cardiomyocyte-like cell line (HL1 cells), neonatal rat cardiomyocytes and human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived cardiomyocytes. Fast calcium oscillations in HL1 cells were observed in the presence and absence of extracellular calcium and most pronounced in the area next to the laser spot after irradiation. Within the laser spot, in particular high laser powers led to a single rise in calcium over a time period of several seconds. These results were confirmed in stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes. In the presence of normal and high calcium concentrations, the spontaneous contraction frequency increased after laser irradiation in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes. Consequently, gold nanoparticle mediated photothermal cell manipulation via pulsed lasers may serve as a potential pacemaker-technique in regenerative approaches, next to optogenetics.
Laser-based transfection techniques have proven high applicability in several cell biologic applications. The delivery of different molecules using these techniques has been extensively investigated. In particular, new high-throughput approaches such as gold nanoparticle–mediated laser transfection allow efficient delivery of antisense molecules or proteins into cells preserving high cell viabilities. However, the cellular response to the perforation procedure is not well understood. We herein analyzed the perforation kinetics of single cells during resonant gold nanoparticle–mediated laser manipulation with an 850-ps laser system at a wavelength of 532 nm. Inflow velocity of propidium iodide into manipulated cells reached a maximum within a few seconds. Experiments based on the inflow of FM4-64 indicated that the membrane remains permeable for a few minutes for small molecules. To further characterize the cellular response postmanipulation, we analyzed levels of oxidative heat or general stress. Although we observed an increased formation of reactive oxygen species by an increase of dichlorofluorescein fluorescence, heat shock protein 70 was not upregulated in laser-treated cells. Additionally, no evidence of stress granule formation was visible by immunofluorescence staining. The data provided in this study help to identify the cellular reactions to gold nanoparticle–mediated laser manipulation.
Our research combines Digital Holographic Microscopy (DHM) and ˛uorescence microscopy to study the basic mechanisms of gold nanoparticle mediated laser manipulation. Herein we describe the technical aspects of the setup and holographic image reconstruction. Furthermore, results pertaining to cell volume change and calcium response of cells in laser manipulation will be presented and discussed. For the reconstruction of phase images from fringe image data, a phase unwrapping algorithm is presented that shows great potential to cope with the vast amount of data that was captured. This algorithm is a hybrid between a tile unwrapping technique and a path following unwrapper. It combines the robustness of a path following algorithm and a parallelizable tile unwrapping preprocessing step. The experimental setup enables simultaneous acquisition of ˛uorescence and phase images. For cell manipulation, a picosecond laser was coupled into the setup and weakly focused on cells incubated with gold nanoparticles. To study the cell volume change in the ˝rst minute, phase images were captured with a frame rate of 33 fps. Fluorescence images yielded the calcium signal of the cells as well as the dynamics of the F-actin cytoskeleton after irradiation. The setup is suitable to study fast changes in biophysical and morphological para
Modulation of the cell membrane permeability by the plasmonic interaction of gold nanoparticles and short laser pulses for cell manipulation or destruction has been the objective of several recent studies. Gold nanoparticles in close vicinity to the cellular membrane are irradiated to evoke a nanoscale membrane perforation, enabling extracellular molecules to enter the cell. However, besides several basic studies no real translation from proof of concept experiments to routine usage of this approach was achieved so far.
In order to provide a reproducible and easy-to-use platform for gold nanoparticle mediated (GNOME) laser manipulation, we established an automated and encased laser setup. We demonstrate its feasibility for high-throughput cell manipulation. In particular, protein delivery into canine cancer cells is shown. The biofunctional modification of cells was investigated using the caspase 3 protein, which represents a central effector molecule in the apoptotic signaling cascade. An efficient and temporally well-defined induction of apoptosis was observed with an early onset 2 h after protein delivery by GNOME laser manipulation. Besides protein delivery, modulation of gene function using GNOME laser transfection of antisense molecules was demonstrated, showing the potential of this technique for basic science and screening purposes.
Concluding, we established GNOME laser manipulation of cells as a routine method, which can be utilized reliably for the efficient delivery of biomolecules. Its intrinsic features, being low impairment of the cell viability, high delivery efficiency and universal applicability, render this method well suited for a large variety of biomedical application.
The interaction of cell-adhered nanostructures with laser light has attracted much interest within the biomedical field. Molecular delivery using a variety of plasmonic nanostructures, such as structured surfaces, nanoparticles and particle clusters, is currently evolving from its proof-of-concept into a routine method. Here, gold represents the material of choice, as it provides unique optical properties, different surface modifications as well as biocompatibility. In addition, new materials (e.g. polypyrrole) provide interesting alternatives.
Applying this approach, a variety of molecules, such as fluorescent dyes, proteins, antisense structures, and DNA, has been transfected in order to manipulate the cellular functions in different experimental settings. Antisense structures, for example, allow the efficient down regulation of the gene activity of a target, providing insights into the gene’s function. The delivery of proteins, as executing molecules in the cell, can exhibit an immediate effect on the cell behavior, allowing a minute observation of the intracellular kinetics.
Direct cell manipulation can be achieved with this approach as well. Increasing the nanoparticle concentration and/or the radiant exposure, effective cell destruction is induced. Using targeted nanoparticles (e.g. by antibody conjugation) in combination with spatially selective laser irradiation permits well-directed cell manipulation even in mixed cultures and potentially in tissues. Furthermore, excited gold nanoparticles can directly trigger cellular reactions, which can possibly be utilized for cell stimulation. The manifold possibilities of nanostructure assisted laser manipulation are still in development.
Laser-based transfection techniques have gained significant interest during the last decade. Either single cell manipulation by focusing on the cell membrane or high-throughput can be realized with laser transfection. The latter is for example provided by gold nanoparticle mediated laser transfection. It is based on the heating of gold nanoparticles through laser irradiation, which permeabilizes the membrane. This technique satisfies most prerequisites of a reliable transfection technique, like efficiency and minimal cell impact. In order to bring it closer to routine usage, we investigated new particle configurations for gold nanoparticle mediated laser transfection. Our setup employs a 532 nm and 850 ps laser system. We immobilized gold particles on cell culture surfaces or modified silica particles with a gold particle surface coverage. Furthermore, first experiments achieving cell perforation with an organic nanoparticle based on polypyrrole were conducted. These three options achieved comparable efficiencies to the incubation of cells with free gold nanoparticles. With regard to the underlying mechanisms of perforation, we performed fluorescence microscopy based imaging of the cell state combined with holographic imaging directly after perforation. First results indicated a power dependent ion (calcium) and volume exchange with the extracellular medium in the first two minutes after perforation. In conclusion, our results can pave the way to a safer and more efficient way of high-throughput laser transfection with gold nanoparticles.
In comparison to standard transfection methods, gold nanoparticle-mediated laser transfection has proven to be a versatile alternative. This is based on its minor influence on cell viability and its high efficiency, especially for the delivery of small molecules like small interfering RNA. However, in order to transfer it to routine usage, a safety aspect is of major concern: The avoidance of nanoparticle uptake by the cells is desired. The immobilization of the gold nanoparticles on cell culture surfaces can address this issue. In this study, we achieved this by silanization of the appropriate surfaces and the binding of gold nanoparticles to them. Comparable perforation efficiencies to the previous approaches of gold nanoparticle-mediated laser transfection with free gold nanoparticles are demonstrated. The uptake of the immobilized particles by the cells is unlikely. Consequently, these investigations offer the possibility of bringing gold nanoparticle-mediated laser transfection closer to routine usage.
Alternative high throughput transfection methods are required to understand the molecular network of the cell, which is linked to the evaluation of target genes as therapeutic agents. Besides diagnostic purposes, the transfection of primary- and stem cells is of high interest for therapeutic use. Here, the cell release of trans- or exogene proteins is used to develop immune cancer therapies. The basic requirement to accomplish manipulation of cells is an efficient and gentle transfection method. Therefore, we developed an automatized cell manipulation platform providing high throughput by using GNOME laser transfection. Herein, the interaction of moderately focused laser pulses with gold nanoparticles in close vicinity to the cell membrane mediate transient membrane permeabilization. The exact nature of the involved permeabilization effects depends on the applied particles and laser parameters. Hereinafter, we describe investigations considering the parameter regime, the permeabilization mechanism and the safety profile of GNOME laser transfection. The experimental and calculated results imply a combined permeabilization mechanism consisting of both photochemical and photothermal effects. Furthermore, paramount spatial control achieved either by laser illumination with micrometer precision or targeted gold nanoparticle binding to the cells was demonstrated, allowing selective cell manipulation and destruction. Additionally, the possibility to manipulate difficult to transfect primary cells (neurons) is shown. These results give insights in the basic mechanisms involved in GNOME laser transfection and serve as a strong basis to deliver different molecules for therapeutic (e.g. proteins) and diagnostic (siRNA) use.
The use of ultrashort-pulsed lasers for molecule delivery and transfection has proved to be a non-invasive and highly efficient technique for a wide range of mammalian cells. This present study investigates the effectiveness of femtosecond photoporation in plant cells, a hard-to-manipulate yet agriculturally relevant cell type, specifically suspension tobacco BY-2 cells. Both spatial and temporal shaping of the light field is employed to optimise the delivery of membrane impermeable molecules into plant cells using a reconfigurable optical system designed to be able to switch easily between different spatial modes and pulse durations. The use of a propagation invariant Bessel beam was found to increase the number of cells that could be viably optoinjected, when compared to the use of a Gaussian beam. Photoporation with a laser producing sub-12 fs pulses, coupled with a dispersion compensation system to retain the pulse duration at focus, reduced the power required for efficient optical injection by 1.5-1.8 times when compared to a photoporation with a 140 fs laser output.
The delivery of antisense structures, like siRNA, is beneficial for new therapeutic approaches in regenerative sciences. Optical transfection techniques enable high spatial control combined with minimal invasive treatment of cells due to the use of short laser pulses. However, single cell laser transfection by a tightly focused laser beam, for example femtosecond laser transfection, has the major drawback of low throughput. Compared to this, high-throughput in laser transfection is possible by applying gold nanoparticles irradiated by a weakly focused laser beam scanning over the cell sample. Herein, we show the delivery of antisense molecules and demonstrate the minimal cytotoxicity of a method called gold nanoparticle mediated (GNOME) laser transfection. A 532 nm microchip laser in conjugation with 200 nm gold nanoparticles at a concentration of 0.5 μg/cm2 is used. In addition to antisense molecules, the uptake of dextrans of several sizes is analyzed.
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