Muriel Comrie

Femtosecond cellular transfection using a nondiffracting light beam

The ability to permeate selectively the cell membrane and introduce therapeutic agents is a key goal in cell biology. Optical transfection is a powerful methodology but requires exact focusing due to the required two-photon power density. The authors use a Bessel beam that obviates the need to locate precisely the cell membrane, permitting two-photon excitation along a line leading to cell transfection. Assuming a minimum efficiency of 20%, the Bessel beam offers transfection at axial distances 20 times greater than that of its Gaussian equivalent. Furthermore, the authors demonstrate cell transfection beyond obstacles due to the self-healing nature of the Bessel beam.

Photoporation and cell transfection using a violet diode laser

The introduction and subsequent expression of foreign DNA inside living mammalian cells (transfection) is achieved by photoporation with a violet diode laser. We direct a compact 405 nm laser diode source into an inverted optical microscope configuration and expose cells to 0.3 mW for 40 ms. The localized optical power density of ~1200 MW/m2 is six orders of magnitude lower than that used in femtosecond photoporation (~104 TW/m2). The beam perforates the cell plasma membrane to allow uptake of plasmid DNA containing an antibiotic resistant gene as well as the green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene. Successfully transfected cells then expand into clonal groups which are used to create stable cell lines. The use of the violet diode laser offers a new and simple poration technique compatible with standard microscopes and is the simplest method of laser-assisted cell poration reported to date.

Cloning and expression of two isoforms of guanylate cyclase C (GC-C) from the European eel (Anguilla anguilla).

Complementary DNA fragments for two isoforms of particulate guanylate cyclase C (GC-C) were cloned from the intestine of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla). Both isoforms exhibited higher nucleotide and amino acid sequence homologies to members of the GC-C family from other species than the related guanylate cyclase A or B (GC-A or GC-B) isoforms from the eel. Northern blots indicated that probes for both isoforms, termed GC-C1 and GC-C2, selectively hybridised to 4.8-kb transcripts in the intestine and the kidney. Expression of the GC-C2 transcript in the intestine was increased by 100% following the transfer of yellow FW-acclimated eels to SW. Likewise developmental maturation of yellow eels into pre-migratory silver eels resulted in a significant increase (60%) in the intestinal expression of GC-C2. No changes in expression of GC-C2 were seen in the kidney under any condition. RT-PCR indicated that the GC-C2 isoform is only expressed in anterior and mid-gut segments in FW-acclimated yellow eels. However, expression is also extended to the posterior gut segment when yellow eels are acclimated to SW or following developmental transformation into silver eels.

Femtosecond Cellular Transfection Using a Non-Diffracting Light Beam

Foreign DNA introduction inside the living cell has been demonstrated using a Bessel beam. This obviates the need to locate precisely the cell membrane permitting two-photon photoporation along a line leading to successful transfection.

Optical transfection of mammalian cells

The introduction of naked DNA or other membrane impermeable substances into a cell (transfection) is a ubiquitous problem in cell biology. This problem is particularly challenging when it is desired to load membrane impermeable substances into specific cells, as most transfection technologies (such as liposomal transfection) are based on treating a global population of cells. The technique of optical transfection, using a focused laser to open a small transient hole in the membrane of a biological cell (photoporation) to load membrane impermeable DNA into it, allows individual cells to be targeted for transfection, while leaving neighbouring cells unaffected. Unlike other techniques used to perform single cell transfection, such as microinjection, optical transfection can be performed in an entirely closed system, thereby maintaining sterility of the sample during treatment. Here, we are investigating the introduction and subsequent expression of foreign DNA into living mammalian cells by laser-assisted photoporation with a femtosecond-pulsed titanium sapphire laser at 800 nm, in cells that are adherent.

Transfection of cells using a violet diode laser for photoporation

The introduction and subsequent expression of foreign DNA inside living mammalian cells (transfection) is achieved by photoporation with a violet diode laser. We direct a compact 405 nm laser diode source into an inverted optical microscope configuration and expose cells to 0.3 mW for 40 ms. The localized optical power density of ~1200 MW/m2 is six orders of magnitude lower than that used in femtosecond photoporation (~104 TW/m2). The tightly focused laser beam (with a localised focal volume of ~10-19 m3 ) perforates the cell plasma membrane to allow uptake of plasmid DNA containing an antibiotic resistant gene as well as the green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene. Successfully transfected cells then expand into clonal groups which are used to create stable cell lines. The use of the violet diode laser offers a new and simple poration technique compatible with standard microscopes and is the simplest method of laser-assisted cell poration reported to date

Femtosecond cellular transfection using a non-diffracting beam

Efficient DNA delivery into single living cells would be a very powerful capability for cell biologists for elucidating basic cellular functions but also in other fields such as applied drug discovery and gene therapy. The ability to gently permeate the cell membrane and introduce foreign DNA with the assistance of lasers is a powerful methodology but requires exact focusing due to the required two-photon power density. Here, we demonstrate a laser-mediated delivery method of the red fluorescent protein DS-RED into Chinese hamster Ovary (CHO) cells. We used an elongated beam of light created by a Bessel beam (BB) which obviates the need to locate precisely the cell membrane, permitting two-photon excitation along a line leading to cell transfection. Assuming a threshold for transfection of 20%, the BB gives us transfection over twenty times the axial distance compared to the Gaussian beam of equivalent core diameter. In addition, by exploiting the BB property of reconstruction, we demonstrate successful transfection of CHO cells which involves the BB passing through an obstructive layer and re forming itself prior to reaching the cell membrane. In the light of this exciting result, one can envisage the possibility of achieving transfection through multiple cell monolayer planes and tissues using this novel light field, eliminating this way the stringent requirements for tight focusing.