Engineering functionalized diamond nanoparticles for intracellular delivery of nucleic acids

我的研究项目的目标是设计一种新型纳米材料，可以将核酸携带到哺乳动物细胞中。在过去的二十年里，基因传递一直是一个重要的研究领域，但主流的化学基因传递纳米材料、脂质和聚合物在稳定性、效率和毒性方面存在局限性。我的研究项目侧重于使用固体核纳米粒子，如纳米金刚石，来克服这些障碍。纳米金刚石与脂质和聚合物纳米颗粒相比，具有均匀的尺寸分布和可用于化学修饰的大表面积的优点。它们在基因传递所需的剂量下是无毒的。

The objective of my research program is to engineer novel nanomaterials that carry nucleic acids into mammalian cells. Gene delivery has been a significant research area of interest for the past two decades, but the mainstream chemical gene delivery nanomaterials, lipids and polymers pose limitations with respect to their stability, efficiency and toxicity. My research program focuses on the use of solid-core nanoparticles, such as nanodiamonds, to overcome these barriers. Nanodiamonds have advantages over lipid and polymer nanoparticles by virtue of a uniform size distribution and a large surface area available for chemical modifications. They are nontoxic in doses necessary for gene delivery.