Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us

Download Mobile App




New Color-Coded Test Quickly Reveals If Medical Nanoparticles Deliver Their Payload into Target Cells

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 07 Jan 2022

A color-coded test for new nanoparticles can quickly identify which formulations will effectively deliver the medicines they carry. More...

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine (Baltimore, MD, USA) have developed a color-coded test that quickly signals whether newly developed nanoparticles - ultra small compartments designed to ferry medicines, vaccines and other therapies - deliver their cargo into target cells. Historically, nanoparticles have a very low delivery rate to the cytosol, the inside compartment of cells, releasing only about 1-2% of their contents. The new testing tool, engineered specifically to test nanoparticles, could advance the search for next-generation biological medicines. The technology builds upon nanoparticles currently used against cancer and eye disease, and in vaccines for viruses including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Previous research has estimated that only about 1-2% of nanoparticles “eaten” by cells are able to escape the cellular compartments that trap them to avoid being digested or “spit back out.” In addition to the properties of its cargo, a nanoparticle’s chemical properties determine whether it is accepted by a cell and able to evade its cellular defenses. To surmount such obstacles to final delivery, the researchers designed a screening tool that assesses hundreds of nanoparticle formulations on their ability to not just reach a cell, but also how efficiently the nanoparticle can escape with its cargo to reach a cell’s interior.

The test uses mouse cells grown in the laboratory that are genetically engineered to carry a florescent marker called Gal8-mRuby, which shines orange-red when a cellular envelope that engulfs a nanoparticle opens, releasing its cargo into the cell. Images of the process are then analyzed by a computer program that quickly tracks the nanoparticle location using red fluorescent light and quantifies how effective the nanoparticles are at being released into the cell by assessing the amount of orange-red fluorescent light, with detailed information about the uptake of the nanoparticles and the delivery of their cargo.

The researchers tested their tool in mouse cells grown in the laboratory as well as in living mice. In experiments in mice, the researchers administered biodegradable nanoparticles carrying mRNA that encoded a gene called luciferase, which makes cells glow. The researchers then tracked whether the mouse cells accepted the gene and began expressing it - lighting up target cells like a lightning bug. Green’s team found that the top-performing nanoparticles in the cellular tests had a high positive correlation to nanoparticle gene delivery performance in living mice, showing the nanoparticle assay is a good predictor of successful cargo delivery.

In further mouse studies, the researchers discovered that different chemical group combinations in the polymer-based nanoparticles led the nanoparticles to target different tissue types. By analyzing how the particles behaved in the mouse’s body, the researchers found that polymer chemical properties could direct the nanoparticle gene therapy to specific target cells, such as endothelial cells in the lungs or B cells in the spleen. Nanoparticle delivery of biological drugs is a growing field, particularly for gene therapies and vaccines.

“By fine-tuning small chemical changes, we can steer a nanoparticle to specific tissues and even specific cells,” said Jordan Green, Ph.D., professor of biomedical engineering at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “This would allow us to develop more precisely delivered therapies, which could improve both efficacy and safety.”

Related Links:
Johns Hopkins Medicine 


Gold Member
Quality Control Material
iPLEX Pro Exome QC Panel
Collection and Transport System
PurSafe Plus®
New
Blood Glucose Test Strip
AutoSense Test
New
Urine Chemistry Control
Dropper Urine Chemistry Control
Read the full article by registering today, it's FREE! It's Free!
Register now for FREE to LabMedica.com and get access to news and events that shape the world of Clinical Laboratory Medicine.
  • Free digital version edition of LabMedica International sent by email on regular basis
  • Free print version of LabMedica International magazine (available only outside USA and Canada).
  • Free and unlimited access to back issues of LabMedica International in digital format
  • Free LabMedica International Newsletter sent every week containing the latest news
  • Free breaking news sent via email
  • Free access to Events Calendar
  • Free access to LinkXpress new product services
  • REGISTRATION IS FREE AND EASY!
Click here to Register








Channels

Hematology

view channel
Image: New research points to protecting blood during radiation therapy (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

Pioneering Model Measures Radiation Exposure in Blood for Precise Cancer Treatments

Scientists have long focused on protecting organs near tumors during radiotherapy, but blood — a vital, circulating tissue — has largely been excluded from dose calculations. Each blood cell passing through... Read more

Immunology

view channel
Image: The VENTANA HER2 (4B5) test is now CE-IVDR approved (Photo courtesy of Roche)

Companion Diagnostic Test Identifies HER2-Ultralow Breast Cancer and Biliary Tract Cancer Patients

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in Europe, with more than 564,000 new cases and 145,000 deaths annually. Metastatic breast cancer is rising in younger populations and remains the leading cause... Read more

Pathology

view channel
Image: An adult fibrosarcoma case report has shown the importance of early diagnosis and targeted therapy (Photo courtesy of Sultana and Sailaja/Oncoscience)

Accurate Pathological Analysis Improves Treatment Outcomes for Adult Fibrosarcoma

Adult fibrosarcoma is a rare and highly aggressive malignancy that develops in connective tissue and often affects the limbs, trunk, or head and neck region. Diagnosis is complex because tumors can mimic... Read more

Technology

view channel
Image: Conceptual design of the CORAL capsule for microbial sampling in the small intestine (H. Mohammed et al., Device (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.device.2025.100904)

Coral-Inspired Capsule Samples Hidden Bacteria from Small Intestine

The gut microbiome has been linked to conditions ranging from immune disorders to mental health, yet conventional stool tests often fail to capture bacterial populations in the small intestine.... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.