Controlled Intracellular Delivery of Single Particles in Single Cells by 3D Hollow Nanoelectrodes

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel 3D hollow nanoelectrode platform that enables precise control and measurement of single nanoparticle delivery into individual living cells using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

Contribution

The study presents a new electrophoretic device with 3D hollow nanoelectrodes for targeted intracellular nanoparticle delivery and real-time SERS detection in single cells.

Findings

Effective membrane electroporation achieved

Single nanoparticle delivery controlled by bias voltage

Potential for intracellular analysis and sampling

Abstract

We present an electrophoretic platform based on 3D hollow nanoelectrodes capable of controlling and quantifying the intracellular delivery of single nanoparticles in single selected cells by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The gold-coated hollow nanoelectrode has a sub-femtoliter inner volume that allows the confinement and enhancement of electromagnetic fields upon laser illumination to distinguish the SERS signals of a single nanoparticle flowing through the nanoelectrode. The tight wrapping of cell membranes around the nanoelectrodes enables effective membrane electroporation such that single gold nanorods are delivered into a living cell with a delivery rate subject to the applied bias voltage. The capability of the 3D hollow nanoelectrodes to porate cells and reveal single emitters from the background under live flow is promising for the analysis of both intracellular delivery and sampling.