Femtosecond laser activated carbon nanoparticles for corneal gene therapy

International audienceCell permeabilization allows us to deliver all sorts of molecules, especially genetic material able to modify cell behavior, into cells. A new cell therapy method published in Nature Nanotechnology in 2011 [1] consists in ephemerally permeabilizing cell membranes using a photo-acoustic reaction produced by carbon nanoparticles and femtosecond laser. Authors introduced a small molecule called calcein into cells in suspension whose membrane is normally impermeable with a good efficiency (until 90%) and a very low toxicity (