Disposable plastics such as pipettes, tubes, and culture dishes are frequently used in chemical and biological research, and it is estimated that the amount of plastic waste per researcher reaches about several tens of kilograms per year.But so far, little progress has been made in reducing single-use plastics.
This time, a research group at Keio University performed cell transfection (gene transfer) with levitated droplets using acoustic levitation, which allows experiments in the air without using a container, and found that transgene uptake and expression efficiency were improved. was found to be significantly higher than when operated in vitro.
If it is possible to transfect cells in a culture medium suspended in the air using ultrasonic standing waves, it will eliminate the need for containers, and is expected to help reduce plastic waste at research sites. .In this study, we transfected animal cells with plasmid DNA (pDNA) in a levitated culture medium, and verified the effect of gene transfer.As the water in the medium containing the cells floats in the air for a long time, the water evaporates. 4 hours of injection.
As a result, the expression of the transgene showed a significant increase of 3-fold or more compared to the cells left standing in vitro.In addition, the amount of pDNA uptake was 3 times higher than that in the static test tube.This suggests that levitation may have altered cell properties and led to the integration of endocytic pathways, leading to improved transfection efficiency, suggesting that ultrasonic levitation is an effective gene transfer condition. was done.
From the above, this technology not only reduces plastic waste, but also has the potential to provide innovative experimental conditions, and is expected to lead to the provision of new experimental procedures in cell engineering.
Paper information:[Advanced Science] Effective cell transfection in an ultrasonically levitated droplet for sustainable technology
