Tharushi Perera Palalle G, Linklater Denver P, Kosyer Erim, Croft Rodney, Ivanova Elena P
School of Science, RMIT University, PO Box 2476, Melbourne, ViC 3001, Australia.
Faculty of Science, Engineering and Technology, Swinburne University of Technology, PO Box 218, Hawthorn, ViC 3122, Australia.
R Soc Open Sci. 2022 Jun 29;9(6):220520. doi: 10.1098/rsos.220520. eCollection 2022 Jun.
Exposure to high-frequency (HF) electromagnetic fields (EMFs) at 18 GHz was previously found to induce reversible cell permeabilization in eukaryotic cells; however, the fate of internalized foreign objects inside the cell remains unclear. Here, silica core-shell gold nanospheres (Au NS) of 20 ± 5 nm diameter were used to study the localization of Au NS in pheochromocytoma (PC 12) cells after exposure to HF EMFs at 18 GHz. Internalization of Au NS was confirmed using fluorescence microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Analysis based on corresponding scanning transmission electron microscopy energy-dispersive spectroscopy revealed the presence of the Au NS free within the PC 12 cell membrane, cytoplasm, enclosed within intracellular vesicles and sequestered in vacuoles. The results obtained in this work highlight that exposure to HF EMFs could be used as an efficient technique with potential for effective delivery of drugs, genetic material, and nanomaterials into cells for the purpose of cellular manipulation or therapy.
先前发现，暴露于18吉赫兹的高频（HF）电磁场（EMF）会在真核细胞中诱导可逆的细胞通透性；然而，细胞内内化异物的命运仍不清楚。在这里，使用直径为20±5纳米的二氧化硅核壳金纳米球（Au NS）来研究在暴露于18吉赫兹的HF EMF后Au NS在嗜铬细胞瘤（PC 12）细胞中的定位。使用荧光显微镜和透射电子显微镜确认了Au NS的内化。基于相应的扫描透射电子显微镜能量色散光谱的分析表明，在PC 12细胞膜、细胞质内存在游离的Au NS，其被包裹在细胞内囊泡中并被隔离在液泡中。这项工作获得的结果突出表明，暴露于HF EMF可作为一种有效的技术，具有将药物、遗传物质和纳米材料有效递送至细胞以进行细胞操作或治疗的潜力。
