WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., June 14 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists have discovered common bacteria can be used to deliver "smart nanoparticles" into a cell to aid in disease diagnosis and treatment.
Purdue University researchers said the nanoparticles could be used to precisely position sensors, drugs or DNA -- providing a way to overcome hurdles in delivering cargo to the interiors of cells as an alterative technology for gene therapy.
The scientists, led by Professor Rashid Bashir of Purdue's Birck Nanotechnology Center, attached nanoparticles to the outside of bacteria and linked DNA to the nanoparticles. Then the nanoparticle-laden bacteria transported the DNA to the nuclei of cells, causing the cells to produce a fluorescent protein that glowed green.
Bashir said the same method could be used to deliver drugs, genes or other cargo into cells. The approach might also make it possible to insert relatively large structures, such as sensors and hollow filaments called carbon nanotubes, into the interiors of cells.
The study is available in the online edition of the journal Nature Nanotechnology and will appear in the journal's July print issue.
