Impalefection is a method of gene delivery using nanomaterials, such as carbon nanofibers, carbon nanotubes, nanowires. [1] Needle-like nanostructures are synthesized perpendicular to the surface of a substrate. Plasmid DNA containing the gene and intended for intracellular delivery, is attached to the nanostructure surface. A chip with arrays of these needles is then pressed against cells or tissue. Cells that are impaled by nanostructures can express the delivered gene(s).
As one of the types of transfection, the term is derived from two words – impalement and infection.
One of the features of impalefection is spatially resolved gene delivery that holds potential for such tissue engineering approaches in wound healing as gene activated matrix technology. [2] Though impalefection is an efficient approach in vitro, it has not yet been effectively used in vivo on live organisms and tissues. [3]
Vertically aligned carbon nanofiber arrays prepared by photolithography and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition are one of the suitable types of material. [4] Silicon nanowires are another choice of nanoneedles that have been utilized for impalefection.
Nanomaterials describe, in principle, materials of which a single unit small sized between 1 and 100 nm.
Nanoid robotics, or for short, nanorobotics or nanobotics, is an emerging technology field creating machines or robots whose components are at or near the scale of a nanometer. More specifically, nanorobotics refers to the nanotechnology engineering discipline of designing and building nanorobots with devices ranging in size from 0.1 to 10 micrometres and constructed of nanoscale or molecular components. The terms nanobot, nanoid, nanite, nanomachine and nanomite have also been used to describe such devices currently under research and development.
An inorganic nanotube is a cylindrical molecule often composed of metal oxides, or group III-Nitrides and morphologically similar to a carbon nanotube. Inorganic nanotubes have been observed to occur naturally in some mineral deposits.
Timothy Eric McKnight is an American biologist. He has been a key developer of a cell transfecting method using vertically aligned carbon nanofibers. Arrays of vertically aligned carbon nanofibers are modified with DNA and pressed into cells and tissue. Surviving cells can express DNA that is delivered during the penetration event, even when the DNA is covalently bound to the penetrant nanofiber element. This gene delivery technique has been termed Impalefection.
Carbon nanofibers (CNFs), vapor grown carbon fibers (VGCFs), or vapor grown carbon nanofibers (VGCNFs) are cylindrical nanostructures with graphene layers arranged as stacked cones, cups or plates. Carbon nanofibers with graphene layers wrapped into perfect cylinders are called carbon nanotubes.
Nanofibers are fibers with diameters in the nanometer range. Nanofibers can be generated from different polymers and hence have different physical properties and application potentials. Examples of natural polymers include collagen, cellulose, silk fibroin, keratin, gelatin and polysaccharides such as chitosan and alginate. Examples of synthetic polymers include poly(lactic acid) (PLA), polycaprolactone (PCL), polyurethane (PU), poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV), and poly(ethylene-co-vinylacetate) (PEVA). Polymer chains are connected via covalent bonds. The diameters of nanofibers depend on the type of polymer used and the method of production. All polymer nanofibers are unique for their large surface area-to-volume ratio, high porosity, appreciable mechanical strength, and flexibility in functionalization compared to their microfiber counterparts.
Nanochemistry is the combination of chemistry and nano science. Nanochemistry is associated with synthesis of building blocks which are dependent on size, surface, shape and defect properties. Nanochemistry is being used in chemical, materials and physical, science as well as engineering, biological and medical applications. Nanochemistry and other nanoscience fields have the same core concepts but the usages of those concepts are different.
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are cylinders of one or more layers of graphene (lattice). Diameters of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) are typically 0.8 to 2 nm and 5 to 20 nm, respectively, although MWNT diameters can exceed 100 nm. CNT lengths range from less than 100 nm to 0.5 m.
A biointerface is the region of contact between a biomolecule, cell, biological tissue or living organism or organic material considered living with another biomaterial or inorganic/organic material. The motivation for biointerface science stems from the urgent need to increase the understanding of interactions between biomolecules and surfaces. The behavior of complex macromolecular systems at materials interfaces are important in the fields of biology, biotechnology, diagnostics, and medicine. Biointerface science is a multidisciplinary field in which biochemists who synthesize novel classes of biomolecules cooperate with scientists who have developed the tools to position biomolecules with molecular precision, scientists who have developed new spectroscopic techniques to interrogate these molecules at the solid-liquid interface, and people who integrate these into functional devices. Well-designed biointerfaces would facilitate desirable interactions by providing optimized surfaces where biological matter can interact with other inorganic or organic materials, such as by promoting cell and tissue adhesion onto a surface.
A nanowire battery uses nanowires to increase the surface area of one or both of its electrodes. Some designs, variations of the lithium-ion battery have been announced, although none are commercially available. All of the concepts replace the traditional graphite anode and could improve battery performance.
Self-assembling peptides are a category of peptides which undergo spontaneous assembling into ordered nanostructures. Originally described in 1993, these designer peptides have attracted interest in the field of nanotechnology for their potential for application in areas such as biomedical nanotechnology, tissue cell culturing, molecular electronics, and more.
DNA nanotechnology is the design and manufacture of artificial nucleic acid structures for technological uses. In this field, nucleic acids are used as non-biological engineering materials for nanotechnology rather than as the carriers of genetic information in living cells. Researchers in the field have created static structures such as two- and three-dimensional crystal lattices, nanotubes, polyhedra, and arbitrary shapes, and functional devices such as molecular machines and DNA computers. The field is beginning to be used as a tool to solve basic science problems in structural biology and biophysics, including applications in X-ray crystallography and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of proteins to determine structures. Potential applications in molecular scale electronics and nanomedicine are also being investigated.
Peptide amphiphiles (PAs) are peptide-based molecules that self-assemble into supramolecular nanostructures including; spherical micelles, twisted ribbons, and high-aspect-ratio nanofibers. A peptide amphiphile typically comprises a hydrophilic peptide sequence attached to a lipid tail, i.e. a hydrophobic alkyl chain with 10 to 16 carbons. Therefore, they can be considered a type of lipopeptide. A special type of PA, is constituted by alternating charged and neutral residues, in a repeated pattern, such as RADA16-I. The PAs were developed in the 1990s and the early 2000s and could be used in various medical areas including: nanocarriers, nanodrugs, and imaging agents. However, perhaps their main potential is in regenerative medicine to culture and deliver cells and growth factors.
A Nanogenerator is a type of technology that converts mechanical/thermal energy as produced by small-scale physical change into electricity. A Nanogenerator has three typical approaches: piezoelectric, triboelectric, and pyroelectric nanogenerators. Both the piezoelectric and triboelectric nanogenerators can convert mechanical energy into electricity. However, pyroelectric nanogenerators can be used to harvest thermal energy from a time-dependent temperature fluctuation.
Direct-current plasma (DCP) is a type of plasma source used for atomic emission spectroscopy that utilizes three electrodes to produce a plasma stream. The most common three-electrode DCP apparatus consists of two graphite anode blocks and a tungsten cathode block arranged in an inverted-Y arrangement. An argon gas source is situated between the anode blocks and argon gas flows through the anode blocks. The plasma stream is produced by briefly contacting the cathode with the anodes. Temperatures at the arc core exceed 8000 K. This three-electrode arrangement is illustrated in Figure 1.
Nano neuro knitting is an emerging technology for repairing nervous system tissues via nano scaffolding techniques. Currently being explored in numerous research endeavors, nano neuro knitting has been shown to allow partial reinnervation in damaged areas of the nervous system through the interactions between potentially regenerative axons and peptide scaffolds. This interaction has been shown to lead to sufficient axon density renewal to the point that functionality is restored. While nano neuro knitting shows promise, the uncertainty of the effects in human subjects warrants further investigation before clinical trials initiate.
Techniques have been developed to produce carbon nanotubes in sizable quantities, including arc discharge, laser ablation, high-pressure carbon monoxide disproportionation, and chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Most of these processes take place in a vacuum or with process gases. CVD growth of CNTs can occur in vacuum or at atmospheric pressure. Large quantities of nanotubes can be synthesized by these methods; advances in catalysis and continuous growth are making CNTs more commercially viable.
Kristy M. Ainslie is a Fred Eshelman Distinguished Professor in pharmaceutical science at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the Eshelman School of Pharmacy and chair of the Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics. She is also joint in the UNC School of Medicine Department of Microbiology and Immunology and affiliated faculty in the UNC/NC State joint Biomedical Engineering department. Additionally, she is part of UNC's Biological and Biomedical Sciences Program (BBSP).
Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures are structures with at least one dimension on the nanometre scale, composed predominantly of zinc oxide. They may be combined with other composite substances to change the chemistry, structure or function of the nanostructures in order to be used in various technologies. Many different nanostructures can be synthesised from ZnO using relatively inexpensive and simple procedures. ZnO is a semiconductor material with a wide band gap energy of 3.3eV and has the potential to be widely used on the nanoscale. ZnO nanostructures have found uses in environmental, technological and biomedical purposes including ultrafast optical functions, dye-sensitised solar cells, lithium-ion batteries, biosensors, nanolasers and supercapacitors. Research is ongoing to synthesise more productive and successful nanostructures from ZnO and other composites. ZnO nanostructures is a rapidly growing research field, with over 5000 papers published during 2014-2019.
Nanoneuroscience is an interdisciplinary field that integrates nanotechnology and neuroscience. One of its main goals is to gain a detailed understanding of how the nervous system operates and, thus, how neurons organize themselves in the brain. Consequently, creating drugs and devices that are able to cross the blood brain barrier (BBB) are essential to allow for detailed imaging and diagnoses. The blood brain barrier functions as a highly specialized semipermeable membrane surrounding the brain, preventing harmful molecules that may be dissolved in the circulation blood from entering the central nervous system.
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