Back to results
US 2010/0249488 A1Published application
Method of contactless magnetic electroporation
AssigneeMagneGene, Inc.
InventorsThomas Joseph Kardos, Dietmar Paul Rabussay
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
AssigneeMagneGene, Inc.
InventorsThomas Joseph Kardos, Dietmar Paul Rabussay
Estimating the term…
This invention provides a novel method of tissue electroporation that eliminates the need for electrodes that conduct electricity to the tissues. This invention creates electric currents and fields sufficient for porating cell membranes for improving the delivery of polynucleotides such as plasmid and linear DNA and RNA constructs, and polypeptides such as antigen protein constructs into mammalian eucaryotic cells purely by magnetic field pulses that does not require the use of contacting electrodes to conduct electric or ionic current. This invention thus provides a method for improving transfection and immunogenicity of pharmaceutical substances without direct contact with a living body, and may be called magnetopermeabilization. A concomitant aspect of the invention is the method by which a drug such as a solution containing DNA is delivered to a targeted tissue bed that is optimal in conjunction with magnetopermeabilization for maximal transgene expression and drug effect.
A method of permeabilizing cells of a living body or live tissue characterized by temporary pores or openings within the cell membranes, whereby an extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic field is applied to induce eddy currents within tissues encompassing said cells without physically contacting said living body which contains said tissues and cells with electrodes or other devices that conduct electric current to said tissues, wherein the magnetically induced eddy currents in said tissues increase the permeability of cell membranes to molecules, including small and large molecules, including agents, drugs, polypeptides and polynucleotides such as DNA and RNA to cross the membranes of said cells in order to increase the effect of said molecules and drugs on the said living body or live tissue, including the effect of increased transgene expression or transfection of said DNA and RNA within said living body or live tissue;
A method of delivering molecules comprising agents, polypeptides and polynucleotides such as DNA and RNA into cells of a living body by injecting a solution containing said molecules using pressure upon the said solution to propel said molecules into tissues containing said cells by imparting momentum to said solution, together with or followed by applying one or more pulses of an extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic field to induce eddy currents within the vicinity of said tissue without physically contacting said living body which contains said tissue with electrodes that conduct electric current to said tissue, wherein the magnetically induced eddy currents in said tissue increase the permeability of cell membranes to the movement of said molecules from outside of said cells to the inside of said cells such as into the cytoplasm and/or nucleus of said cells in order to increase the effect of said molecules and agents on the said living tissue, including the effect of increased transgene expression or transfection by said DNA and RNA within said tissue;
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.