Nanocapillaries can help create medicines of the future
Russian scientists have created a unique technique for studying the structure and properties of living cells. They proposed a new tool suitable for many types of molecular research simultaneously: nanocapillaries modified with silver particles. Experts believe their use in preclinical studies will improve the accuracy of evaluating an impact on tissues of both harmful factors and new treatment methods.
"Nanosilver bullets"
A team of scientists from the Institute of Advanced Materials and Technologies (AMT), together with colleagues from the MISIS Biophysics Research Laboratory, created nanocapillaries modified with silver nanoparticles. These are tiny probes that scan and can visualize the surface of living cells. At the same time, they are nanoscale "syringes" that inject medicine into these cells without damage.
This method will be used for preclinical studies of new drugs. Nanocapillaries are designed to improve the scanning accuracy of the topography (spatial disposition) of living cells and measuring of their mechanical properties, and therefore improve the assessment of the impact of both harmful factors and new methods of treating various diseases. Studying many parameters while simultaneously obtaining mechanical characteristics and cell visualization will significantly expand the tools of scientists, AMT's associate professor Sergey Dubkov said.
"A modified nanocapillary can be used to regulate the delivery of molecules or ions and to study in vivo their effects on a cell."
Nanoparticles will improve the accuracy of scanning ion-conducting microscopy (SICM), which visualizes individual molecules with nanometer resolution. As of now, SICM has established itself as an excellent tool for scanning living tumor cells, neurons and proteins. It can also be used to analyze the molecular composition of the cytoplasm and the cell nucleus. This means the method of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), which has a unique sensitivity and provides detection and identification of single molecules.
"Modification of the nanocapillary surface by silver nanoparticles will improve this method, in addition to cells visualization and analysis of their mechanical properties. It will also allow the analysis of biological processes of cells, meaning conducting a more comprehensive cells' screening to significantly reduce preclinical study period of new drugs," Sergey Dubkov explained.
The new technique will help to conduct research with hypersensitive detection of abnormalities in living cells, study the molecular composition of the membrane, cytoplasm and nucleus depending on the target cell line or external effects (drug interactions, temperature changes, etc).
Practical use
The new technique is expected to be used for research within five to seven years. With its help, it will be possible to create antitumor medications and other drugs.
"Together with the MIET researchers, we have developed a method for combined SERS analysis of living cells using a unique scientific installation — a scanning ion-conducting microscope, which is available only at The National University of Science and Technology MISiS," engineer from the MISiS Biophysics Laboratory Vasily Kolmogorov said.
According to Vasiliy, the method is unique because it is simultaneously possible to study morphology and local mechanical properties, as well as Raman scattering spectra of individual intracellular areas. The technique will be used in the future to screen the effectiveness of the latest therapeutic drugs.
The use of the developed technique is promising, believes the chief researcher of the Institute of Solid State Physics Vladimir Kukushkin. According to him, despite significant advances in the development of modern medicine, research on the mechanisms of drugs' effect on individual cells, as well as the study of biological processes and metabolism of healthy and malignant cells require a new approach.
"A modified nanocapillary will make it possible to safely obtain data in real time about both mechanical characteristics and internal chemical processes and the composition of a cell. In addition, due to the nanometer size of the capillary tip, its insertion and extraction will not be harmful to the cell, providing the possibility of administering drugs at specified concentrations or taking a sample for subsequent analysis."
"This potential will allow us to analyze medication effects with high accuracy, as well as to detect in advance the occurrence of cumulative effects that can potentially lead to pathologies and cancerous tumors", summarized Vladimir Kukushkin.
However, according to a number of experts, the technique is new and should still prove itself in further research.
The work is carried out within the framework of the university's development program "Priority 2030" and with the support of the Russian Science Foundation. The results are published in the special issue "Achievements of scanning probe microscopy in cell biology" of the "Cells" international scientific journal.
Source: Izvestia