| Biography | |
|---|---|
 Dr. Xi Xie Sun Yat-Sen University |
|
| Title: Nanoneedle cell penetration for intracellular drug delivery | |
| Abstract:
Introduction of biomolecules across the cell membrane with high efficiency is a challenging yet critical technique in biomedicine. Vertically nanoneedle arrays have been recently reported to offer new opportunities to access a cells' interior by directly breaching the cell membrane, yet microscopic understanding of how and when the nanowires penetrate cell membranes is still lacking. First, to elucidate the possible penetration mechanisms, a continuum elastic cell mechanics model is presented to address how penetration occurs, and explore the characteristics that affect penetration. Our results reveal that cell penetration is likely to occur only for a limited time window during cell adhesion. The penetration effects of nanoneedle geometry and cell properties are systematically evaluated. Nanoneedle cell penetration efficiency is low, and were unable to achieve efficient DNA plasmid transfection. A nanoneedle-electroporation platform was developed to achieve highly efficient molecular delivery and high transfection yields with excellent uniformity and cell viability. Cellular engulfment of the nanoneedles provides an intimate contact, significantly reducing the necessary electroporation voltage and increasing homogeneity over a large area. Biomolecule delivery is achieved by diffusion through the nanoneedles and enhanced by electrophoresis during pulsing. The system was demonstrated to offer excellent spatial, temporal, and dose control for delivery, as well as providing high-yield co-transfection and sequential transfection.
| |
| Biography:
Dr. Xi Xie got his Ph.D degree in 2014 at Stanford University in Prof. Nick Melosh’s lab, and got postdoctoral training at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Prof. Robert Langer and Prof. Dan Anderson’s lab from 2014-2016. In 2016, he was awarded with National Thousand Youth Talents Plan (China), and has been working as Professor in School of Electronic and Information Technology at Sun Yat-Sen University, and as adjunct professor in The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University. Dr. Xie’s lab has been working on nanodevices and nanomaterials for biomedical application, flexible electronics and bioelectronics, wearable electronics, and biomedical engineering. He has published many paper on high impact journals such as ACS Nano and Nano Letters as first author or corresponding author.
| |
