title: Shock wave-mediated molecular delivery into cells.
abstract: A single shock wave generated by a shock tube is able to effectively deliver macromolecules such as fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran into the cytoplasm of living cells without causing cytotoxicity. We report on the effect of varying the molecular weight of the dextran and the number of shock waves on the efficiency of delivery into a cancer cell line. The fraction of cells permeabilized and the total fluorescence delivered were measured by flow cytometry, and the cellular viability by a tetrazolium assay on adherent cells and these values were compared to cell permeabilization using digitonin. Shock waves can deliver molecules of up to 2000000 molecular weight into the cytoplasm of cells without toxicity and may have applications in gene therapy.
authors.affiliation: BAR314B, Wellman Laboratories of Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA. kodama@helix.mgh.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kodama
authors.forename: Apostolos G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Doukas
authors.forename: Michael R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Hamblin
mesh_terms: D002463:Cell Membrane Permeability / Q000187:drug effects*; D002470:Cell Survival; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000737:chemistry; D003911:Dextrans / Q000737:chemistry*; D004072:Digitonin / Q000737:chemistry; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D016650:Fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000737:chemistry*; D015316:Genetic Therapy; D019220:High-Energy Shock Waves; D006801:Humans; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D008858:Microscopy, Phase-Contrast; D008970:Molecular Weight; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D003911:Dextrans; C015219:fluorescein isothiocyanate dextran; D016650:Fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate; D004072:Digitonin