Unmet Need: One aspect of a cell’s function is its ability to form organized structures both within the cell and with its immediate surrounding environment. On cell surfaces, these nanostructures can serve as scaffolds or operate functionally to aid in cellular fate decisions, signal amplification and cellular cross-talk. There is a need to understand the assembly of such structures in order to develop relevant synthetic nanostructures to manipulate cell functionality.
Technical Details: Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have developed a method for conjugating self-assembling nucleic acid nanotubes to cells in a site directed manner with functional use. Nanotube seeds were shown in vitro to conjugate to specific receptors on the cell surface with a linker. These nanotubes could then be manipulated to grow on the surface of live cells. Organized and assembled nanotube microdevices were shown to have a functional role on the cell surface as detectors of shear stress signals. Shear can result from flow that occurs in the body and is a key environmental signal in vivo. The ability to measure shear stress on live cells with nucleic acid nanotubes demonstrates the utility of biomolecular devices in providing functional outputs. Overall, this method offers a novel approach to organize and grow synthetic filaments on live cell surfaces that can be used to functionally assess cellular environments or structurally to build new sensors, machines and scaffolds to interface with and/or control cells.
Value Proposition:
· Novel method to attach microstructures on specific cell receptors
· Nucleic acid nanotubes can self-assemble on live cell surfaces
· Highly customizable based on designed nucleic acid sequences
· Generic approach allows for attachment of many kinds of nanostructures, or for multiplexing of multiple structures on one cell
Looking for Partners to: Develop & commercialize the technology as a novel micro-scale biomolecular device to manipulate cell architecture and function.
Stage of Development: Pre-Clinical
Data Availability: In vitro optimized synthesis
Inventors: Rebecca B. Schulman, Sisi Jia, Siew Cheng, Yuta Nihongaki, Yizeng Li, Michael Pacella, Yi Li, Abdul Majeed Mohammed, Sean Sun, Takanari Inoue
