“Telekinesis”: Scientists develop new technology for targeted cancer therapy
IMAGE: SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM OF IN VIVO MANIPULATION OF CELLS USING PAHAT view more
CREDIT: SIAT
Acoustic tweezers can control target movement through the interaction of momentum between an acoustic wave and an object. Due to their high tissue penetrability and strong acoustic radiation force, such tweezers overcome the limitations of optical and magnetic tweezers, thus making them suitable for in-vivo cell manipulation.
A research team led by Prof. ZHENG Hairong from the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (SIAT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has recently developed a new type of acoustic tweezers—the phased-array holographic acoustic tweezers (PAHAT) system—which is based on a high-density planar array transducer capable of generating tunable three-dimensional bulk acoustic waves. The researchers hope this system can realize a pharmacological version of "telekinesis."
The study was published in Nature Communications on June 6.
The in vivo environment is extremely complex, due to the different characteristics of various tissues, organs, bones, blood vessels, and blood flow. Such a complex environment creates a huge challenge: How can acoustic methods be used to "trap" bacteria so they can produce therapeutic effects on tumors?
The team investigated dynamic target manipulation in complex environments using holographic acoustic fields. They subsequently developed a high-density ultrasound transducer array, which made it possible to generate a strong gradient acoustic field and exert precise spatiotemporal control.
The researchers then used gene editing to create sub-micrometer gas vesicles in bacterial cells, enhancing their acoustic sensitivity. These genetically engineered bacteria formed clusters under the influence of the radiation force in the acoustic field. By combining microscopic imaging with PAHAT, the researchers were able to achieve precise manipulation of bacterial clusters in live mice, thus demonstrating a promising approach for targeted drug delivery and cellular therapy in cancer treatment.
Prof. MA Teng, co-corresponding author of the study, said that the researchers could "precisely control bacteria to reach the lesion according to the predetermined path," while Prof. YAN Fei, co-corresponding author of the study, said that the manipulation technology improved cluster aggregation within tumors, thus effectively slowing tumor growth.
According to Prof. ZHENG, "PAHAT enables precise non-contact manipulation of cells in living organisms. Combining with functional cells and cell spheroids, it has great potential in immunotherapy, tissue engineering, targeted drug delivery, and other fields."
Schematic diagram of phased-array holographic acoustic tweezers (PAHAT) system
Setup diagram for in vivo manipulation of cells using PAHAT
CREDIT
SIAT
JOURNAL
Nature Communications
ARTICLE TITLE
In-vivo programmable acoustic manipulation of genetically engineered bacteria
A robot that performs genetic manipulations of the roundworm C. elegans
VIDEO: THE WORMPICKER IN ACTION. view more
CREDIT: LI ET AL.
A robotic system capable of imaging and transferring the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans could replace hours of tedious lab work, according to a recent study. Laboratory workers spend untold hours every year manipulating C. elegans, a tiny nematode worm used in genetics research that reproduces quickly and is optically transparent. Often, the labor required to manage and manipulate the animals is a major bottleneck for using the worms to address questions in biology. Fang-Yen, Zihao (John) Li, Anthony Fouad and colleagues developed WormPicker, a robotic system capable of handling routine tasks, increasing the productivity of human researchers. WormPicker’s imaging system autonomously detects nematode age, sex, shape, expression of fluorescent reporters, and other phenotypes. A robot arm holding a wire loop can pluck selected individuals out of a petri dish and transfer the animals to another dish—electrically sterilizing itself with heat between each transfer. The authors put the robot through several standard tasks, including genetic crossing, genetic mapping, and genomic integration of a transgene. The authors show that the robot performs a fluorescent C. elegans sorting task at a rate comparable to that of human researchers. The authors expect the robotic system to accelerate studies in diverse areas of C. elegans biology. To make WormPicker as accessible as possible, the authors are providing a list of components and have made all the design files and system software freely available online.
JOURNAL
PNAS Nexus
ARTICLE TITLE
A robotic system for automated genetic manipulation and analysis of Caenorhabditis elegans
ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE
5-Jul-2023
COI STATEMENT
Anthony D Fouad and Christopher Fang-Yen are shareholders in Tau Scientific Instruments LLC, which aims to commercialize the innovations described in this work.
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