Scientists create tiny backpacks for cells

Physorg.com - November 5, 2008, by Anne Trafton

Image courtesy of American Chemical Society

MIT engineers have outfitted cells with tiny “backpacks” that could allow them to deliver chemotherapy agents, diagnose tumors or become building blocks for tissue engineering.

Michael Rubner, director of MIT’s Center for Materials Science and Engineering and senior author of a paper on the work that appeared online in Nano Letters on Nov. 5, said he believes this is the first time anyone has attached such a synthetic patch to a cell.

The polymer backpacks allow researchers to use cells to ferry tiny cargoes and manipulate their movements using magnetic fields. Since each patch covers only a small portion of the cell surface, it does not interfere with the cell’s normal functions or prevent it from interacting with the external environment.

“The goal is to perturb the cell as little as possible,” said Robert Cohen, the St. Laurent Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT and an author of the paper.

The researchers worked with B and T cells, two types of immune cells that can home to various tissues in the body, including tumors, infection sites, and lymphoid tissues — a trait that could be exploited to achieve targeted drug or vaccine delivery.

“The idea is that we use cells as vectors to carry materials to tumors, infection sites or other tissue sites,” said Darrell Irvine, an author of the paper and associate professor of materials science and engineering and biological engineering.

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