Quantum Times

Nanoblasts from laser-activated nanoparticles move molecules, proteins and DNA into cells

Drug delivery techniqueUsing chemical "nanoblasts" that punch tiny holes in the protective membranes of cells, researchers have demonstrated a new technique for getting therapeutic small molecules, proteins and DNA directly into living cells.Carbon nanoparticles activated by bursts of laser light trigger the tiny blasts, which open holes in cell membranes just long enough to admit therapeutic agents contained in the surrounding fluid. By adjusting laser exposure, the researchers administered a small-molecule marker compound to 90 percent of targeted cells ? while keeping more than 90 percent of the cells alive.The research was sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and the Institute of Paper Science and Technology at Georgia Tech. It will be reported in the August issue of the journal Nature Nanotechnology."This technique could allow us to deliver a wide variety of therapeutics that now cannot easily get into cells," said Mark Prausnitz, a professor in the School of Chemical and Bi

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