Yeo David, Wiraja Christian, Chuah Yon Jin, Gao Yu, Xu Chenjie
School of Chemical &Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
NTU-Northwestern Institute of Nanomedicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
Sci Rep. 2015 Oct 6;5:14768. doi: 10.1038/srep14768.
Nanoparticles are increasingly popular choices for labeling and tracking cells in biomedical applications such as cell therapy. However, all current types of nanoparticles fail to provide real-time, noninvasive monitoring of cell status and functions while often generating false positive signals. Herein, a nanosensor platform to track the real-time expression of specific biomarkers that correlate with cell status and functions is reported. Nanosensors are synthesized by encapsulating various sensor molecules within biodegradable polymeric nanoparticles. Upon intracellular entry, nanosensors reside within the cell cytoplasm, serving as a depot to continuously release sensor molecules for up to 30 days. In the absence of the target biomarkers, the released sensor molecules remain 'Off'. When the biomarker(s) is expressed, a detectable signal is generated (On). As a proof-of-concept, three nanosensor formulations were synthesized to monitor cell viability, secretion of nitric oxide, and β-actin mRNA expression.
在细胞治疗等生物医学应用中，纳米颗粒越来越成为标记和追踪细胞的热门选择。然而，目前所有类型的纳米颗粒都无法对细胞状态和功能进行实时、无创监测，同时还常常产生假阳性信号。在此，我们报道了一种纳米传感器平台，用于追踪与细胞状态和功能相关的特定生物标志物的实时表达。通过将各种传感分子封装在可生物降解的聚合物纳米颗粒内来合成纳米传感器。纳米传感器进入细胞后，会驻留在细胞质中，作为一个储存库，持续释放传感分子长达30天。在没有目标生物标志物的情况下，释放的传感分子处于“关闭”状态。当生物标志物表达时，会产生可检测的信号（开启）。作为概念验证，合成了三种纳米传感器制剂，以监测细胞活力、一氧化氮分泌和β-肌动蛋白mRNA表达。
