Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 24, 2025
11:24
Direct Protein Delivery to Mammalian Cells Using Cell-permeable Cys2-His2 Zinc-finger Domains
Published on: March 25, 2015
10.4K
Methods for protein delivery into cells: from current approaches to future perspectives
Chalmers Chau1,2, Paolo Actis1, Eric Hewitt2
1School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering and Pollard Institute, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, U.K.
Biochemical Society Transactions
|April 9, 2020
Summary
Directly delivering proteins into cultured mammalian cells offers advantages over DNA transfection. New nanoscale injection and electroporation methods minimize cell damage, with nanopore sensing enabling single-molecule quantification.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Biotechnology
- Biophysics
Background:
- Delivering exogenous macromolecules into cultured mammalian cells is fundamental to experimental cell biology.
- While DNA transfection is common, direct protein delivery offers unique advantages for pre-delivery modification and analysis.
- Existing methods for protein delivery often have limitations in efficiency and cellular integrity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review novel approaches for the direct delivery of proteins into cultured mammalian cells.
- To highlight advancements in nanoscale injection probes and localized electroporation for improved protein delivery.
- To discuss the potential of nanopore sensing for single-molecule resolution quantification of protein delivery.
Main Methods:
- Review of recent literature on protein delivery techniques.
- Focus on nanoscale injection probes and localized electroporation devices.
- Discussion of nanopore sensing technology for quantification.
Main Results:
- Nanoscale injection probes and localized electroporation devices enable protein delivery with minimized cellular damage.
- These advanced methods offer improved efficiency and precision compared to traditional techniques.
- Nanopore sensing presents a promising avenue for precise, single-molecule level quantification of protein delivery.
Conclusions:
- Emerging nanoscale injection and electroporation technologies significantly enhance direct protein delivery into cultured cells.
- These methods preserve cellular integrity while improving delivery efficiency.
- Nanopore sensing technology holds potential for unprecedented resolution in quantifying protein delivery processes.
Related Concept Videos
01:29Microorganisms in Medicine and Therapeutics
845
Microorganisms play a fundamental role in vaccine development, gene therapy, and therapeutic production. Their biological properties are harnessed to advance medicine and public health. Beyond immunization, microorganisms contribute to gut health, antibiotic synthesis, and genetic disease treatment.Live Attenuated and Inactivated VaccinesLive attenuated vaccines, such as the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, utilize weakened forms of pathogens to closely resemble natural infections.
845
01:45Overview of Protein Sorting and Transport
21.3K
Eukaryotic cells have different membrane-bound organelles with distinct protein requirements. The process by which proteins are targeted to a specific organelle is called protein sorting.
Protein sorting can be of two types: signal-based sorting and vesicle-based trafficking. In signal-based sorting, specific amino acid sequences called sorting signals target proteins to the proper location inside the cell either via gated transport or by protein translocation. In gated transport, folded...
Protein sorting can be of two types: signal-based sorting and vesicle-based trafficking. In signal-based sorting, specific amino acid sequences called sorting signals target proteins to the proper location inside the cell either via gated transport or by protein translocation. In gated transport, folded...
21.3K