mucus transport and membrane interactions of gene carriers

Our BSF-supported research aims to investigate the relationship between gene carrier properties and mucus-diffusion on the one hand, membrane penetration on the other hand. Essentially, our objective is to characterize the entire passage of DNA-NPs from initial application, diffusion through the mucus layer and subsequent penetration through the plasma membrane bilayer. During the research we laid the conceptual and technical groundwork for the study, and a relevant paper was published in the Journal of Controlled Release, a first rate publication. We also carried out a thorough investigation of membrane interactions of polystyrene-based nanoparticles (NPs) (which mimic actual gene carriers) both in model vesicles as well as in actual cells. We also implemented a novel membrane interaction assay developed in the Jelinek laboratory, based upon lipid-modified carbon quantum dots (CQDs), to trace the trajectory of the gene delivery NPs through the fluorescence of QDs embedded within cellular membranes. A paper describing the new CQD bioimaging assay has recently been published.