Radio-controlled nematodes, cells, ion channels...

Nanoparticles for remote control of cellsChemPort based on RSC materials: Nanoparticles allow remote control of cells
An experiment vaguely similar to the plot of low-budget films about "mysterious rays for mind control" allowed researchers from the United States to apply a magnetic field to change the behavior of a living organism.

Researchers from the University of Buffalo implanted nanoscale particles of manganese ferrite into the body of the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans. When the particles were irradiated with a radio frequency electromagnetic field, they warmed up, and the worms changed the direction of their movement. Turning the field on and off causes the worms to move back and forth.

Using thermosensitive tags associated with nanoparticles, the researchers were able to measure their temperature and show that the behavior of worms changed when the nanoparticles warmed up to 34 ° C – the temperature at which the behavior of animals in wildlife changes in such a way that they try to avoid overheating.

The researchers were also able to attach nanoparticles to the membrane proteins of nerve cells, genetically modified in such a way that the proteins ideally bound to these particles. The membranes of nerve cells include a thermosensitive ion channel – a "biological gate" that can open and close, allowing the ion to pass through the membrane. The opening and closing of ion channels of cells with fixed nanoparticles could also be regulated by heating the nanoparticles as a result of exposure to a magnetic field. The opening and closing of ion channels, in turn, changes the electrical activity of nerve cells.

Ion channels open
as a result of local heating of nanoparticles,
caused by the influence of a magnetic field.
Figure from the article by Heng Huang et al.
Remote control of ion channels and neurons
through magnetic-field heating of nanoparticles

Arnd Pralle, who heads the research group, notes that the significance of the developed method lies in the fact that it allows heating only the cell membrane, since only the local temperature of the cell membrane changes, and the temperature inside the cell remains constant, the cell remains viable.

Localized warming, which can be achieved with the help of nanoparticles, can find application in many areas, for example, "targeted" destruction of cancer cells and others. The new method may also be useful for studying the effect of local heating of certain areas of cells or whole organisms by modifying nanoparticles with molecules capable of recognizing certain molecular targets.

A specialist in the use of magnetic nanoparticles in biology and medicine, Jon Dobson, says that the new study is interesting, it is another convenient tool for remote activation of ion channels using magnetic fields and nanoparticles. Dobson adds that one of the advantages of the new approach is that the source of the changes – the magnetic field – is not in direct contact with the target.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru01.07.2010