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Published on: November 7, 2013
LED-Modulated Plasmoporation for Highly Efficient Intracellular Cargo Delivery to Suspension Cells
Hamin Na1,2, Junhee Han1,2, Seoyeon Cho1,2
1Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon34141, Republic of Korea.
Nano Letters
|August 12, 2026
Summary
We developed LED-modulated plasmoporation using gold nanoislands for efficient intracellular cargo delivery. This method achieves high delivery efficiency and cell viability, offering a new approach for cell engineering.
Area of Science:
- Biotechnology
- Nanotechnology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Intracellular delivery of bioactive cargoes is crucial for therapeutic cell engineering but remains challenging.
- Existing methods often struggle with efficiency and cell viability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel, efficient, and scalable method for intracellular cargo delivery into suspension cells.
- To utilize LED-modulated photothermal effects for controlled cell poration and cargo uptake.
Main Methods:
- Employing large-area gold nanoislands (AuNIs) and a white LED module within a microfluidic network.
- Utilizing LED-modulated photothermal cycling to induce transient cell membrane poration and subsequent recovery.
- Analyzing thermal damage using an Arrhenius model to optimize delivery parameters.
Main Results:
- Achieved 80% delivery efficiency of propidium iodide into Jurkat cells with 93% cell viability.
- Identified an optimal cumulative cellular thermal damage (Ω) range of 0.11-0.15 for high delivery efficiency and viability.
- Demonstrated efficient delivery of macromolecules up to 2000 kDa with >50% efficiency.
Conclusions:
- LED-modulated plasmoporation is a highly efficient, low-power, and scalable method for intracellular delivery.
- This technique enables high-throughput immune cell engineering and therapeutic applications.
- The controlled photothermal approach ensures high cell viability post-delivery.
