permeabilization-of-adhered-cells-using-an-inert-gas-jet

Permeabilization of Adhered Cells Using an Inert Gas Jet

Various cell transfection techniques exist and these can be broken down to three broad categories: viral, chemical and mechanical. This protocol describes ...

McGill University

Transferring genes and drugs into cells is central to how we now study, identify and treat diseases. Several non-viral gene therapy methods that rely on the mechanical disruption of the plasma membrane have been proposed, but the success of these methods has been limited due to a lack of understanding of the mechanical parameters that lead to cell membrane permeability.

Use of inert gas jets to measure the forces required for mechanical gene transfection.

In this article we report recent modeling and design work indicating that mixtures of nanoparticles in liquids can be used as an alternative to conventional optical filters. The major motivation for creating liquid optical filters is that they can be pumped in and out of a system to meet transient needs in an application. To demonstrate the versatility of this new class of filters, we present the design of nanofluids for use as long-pass, short-pass, and bandpass optical filters using a simple Monte Carlo optimization procedure. With relatively simple mixtures, we achieve filters with <15% mean-squared deviation in transmittance from conventional filters. We also discuss the current commercial feasibility of nanofluid-based optical filters by including an estimation of today's off-the-shelf cost of the materials. While the limited availability of quality commercial nanoparticles makes it hard to compete with conventional filters, new synthesis methods and economies of scale could enable nanofluid-based optical filters in the near future. As such, this study lays the groundwork for creating a new class of selective optical filters for a wide range of applications, namely communications, electronics, optical sensors, lighting, photography, medicine, and many more.

Article	Year
Use of inert gas jets to measure the forces required for mechanical gene transfection. Biomedical engineering online\| PubMed ID: 22963645	2012
Feasibility of nanofluid-based optical filters. Applied optics\| PubMed ID: 23458793	2013

Sylvain Coulombe

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