Engineering functionalized diamond nanoparticles for intracellular delivery of nucleic acids

我的研究计划的目标是设计新型纳米材料，将核酸带入哺乳动物细胞。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、脂类和聚合物在稳定性、有效性和毒性方面存在局限性。我的研究计划重点是使用固体核心纳米颗粒，如纳米钻石，以克服这些障碍。纳米钻石比脂类和聚合物纳米粒子具有更大的优势，因为纳米钻石具有均匀的尺寸分布和较大的可用于化学修饰的表面积。它们在基因传递所需的剂量上是无毒的。

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.