Methods for nano-mechanoporation
AssigneeThe Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, a body corporate and politic of the State of Illinois
InventorsMin-Feng Yu, Kyungsuk Yum, Ning Wang
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Methods for creating a transient nanoscale opening in a cell membrane and methods for transporting a desired species through the nanoscale opening are provided. A nano-sized needle-like tip can be used to mechanically slice the cell membrane to create a transient, localized nanoscale slit. The nanoscale slit may be used for transferring exogenous molecules into a living cell.
Claims28
A method for creating a transient nano scale opening in the membrane of a cell, the method comprising the steps of:
- a. providing a probe and a cell, the probe having a longitudinal axis and a solid tip end, the diameter of the tip end being from 10 to 300 nm and the cell being immersed in an extracellular solution;
- b. contacting the end of the tip with the outer surface of the cell membrane;
- c. following step b), piercing through the membrane of the cell by moving the probe in a longitudinal direction until the end of the tip is located within the intracellular environment of the cell;
- d. following step c), creating an opening in the membrane of the cell by inducing motion of the tip in at least two directions transverse to the longitudinal axis of the probe, the motion of the tip comprising
- i) motion of the tip in a first direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the probe for a first lateral displacement distance at a first average lateral speed;
- and
- ii) motion of the tip in a second direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the probe for a second lateral displacement distance at a second average lateral speed, the second direction being other than the first direction;
- e. following step d), retracting the tip completely from the cell and allowing the cell membrane to reseal the created opening,
- wherein the cell is substantially stationary during steps b) through e) and the longitudinal speed of the probe in step c) and the first and second average lateral speeds of the probe in step d) are greater than zero and less than 100 microns/sec.
A method for transporting a desired chemical species or biological species through a transient nanoscale opening in the membrane of a cell, the method comprising the steps of:
- a. providing a probe and a cell, the probe having a longitudinal axis and a tip end, the diameter of the tip end being from 50 to 300 nm, the cell being immersed in an extracellular solution and the desired chemical species or biological species being provided either in the extracellular solution or within the cell;
- b. contacting the end of the tip with the outer surface of the cell membrane;
- c. following step b), piercing through the membrane of the cell by moving the probe in a longitudinal direction until the end of the tip is located within the intracellular environment of the cell;
- d. following step c), creating a permeable opening in the membrane of the cell by inducing motion of the tip in at least two directions transverse to the longitudinal axis of the probe, the motion of the tip comprising
- i) motion of the tip in a first direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the probe for a first lateral displacement distance at a first average displacement speed;
- and
- ii) motion of the tip in a second direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the probe for a second lateral displacement distance at a second lateral average displacement speed, the second direction being other than the first direction;
- e. transporting the desired chemical species or biological species through the permeable opening;
- f. following step e), retracting the tip from the cell and allowing the cell membrane to reseal the created opening;
- wherein the cell is substantially stationary during steps b) through f) and both the longitudinal speed of the probe in step c) and the first and second average lateral speeds of the probe in step d) are greater than zero and less than 100 microns/sec.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.