Nuclei in human cells temporarily breached by nanopillars without damaging the cells

Amazing stuff! This is still early, preliminary research.

"... researchers ... created an array of nanopillars which looks something like a microscopic bed of ... nails. They then placed a variety of cells treated with a fluorescent dye on top of the pillars and watched what happened. The cells included heart muscle cells, skin cells, and fibroblasts, cells involved in developing connective tissue in our bodies. ...

All of the cells settled down around the pillars, which caused their nuclei to curve. This caused openings to form in the nuclear membrane but not in the exterior cellular structure as witnessed by the appearance of the dye from the nuclei showing up in the cell's cytoplasm. The openings in the nuclear membrane were self-healing and repaired themselves once removed from the array. ..."

"... The research ... could open new possibilities in gene therapy, where genetic material needs to be delivered directly into the nucleus, as well as drug delivery and other forms of precision medicine. ..."

From the abstract:

"Materials with engineered nano-scale surface topographies, such as nanopillars, nanoneedles, and nanowires, mimic natural structures like viral spike proteins, enabling them to bypass biological barriers like the plasma membrane. These properties have led to applications in nanoelectronics for intracellular sensing and drug delivery platforms, some of which are already in clinical trials. Here, evidence is present that nanotopographic materials can induce transient openings in the nuclear membranes of various cell types without penetrating the cells, breaching the nucleo-cytoplasmic barrier, and allowing uncontrolled molecular exchange across the nuclear membrane. These openings, induced by nanoscale curvature, are temporary and repaired through the Endosomal Sorting Complexes Required for Transport (ESCRT)-mediated mechanisms. The findings suggest a potential for nano\topographic materials to temporarily breach the nuclear membrane with potential applications in direct nuclear sensing and delivery."

Nuclei in human cells breached by innovative nanopillars

Nanopillars Create Tiny Openings in the Nucleus Without Damaging Cells (original news release)

Engineered Nanotopographies Induce Transient Openings in the Nuclear Membrane (open access)

SEM image of a cell sitting on top of the nanopillar array.

Fig. 1 Engineered Nanotopographies for Breaching the Nuclear Membrane.