Abstract
In the literature, a few biological cells have been used as templates to form microcapsules of a variety of shapes and sizes. In this study, we proved the concept that living cells like platelets can be encapsulated with polyelectrolytes using electrostatic layer-by-layer self-assembly (LBL), and, most importantly, the encapsulation process did not induce activation of the platelets. Glycol-chitosan and poly-L-glutamic acid were electrostatically deposited onto platelets, and the encapsulation was confirmed using confocal laser scanning microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Transmission electron microscopy observation further confirmed that the encapsulation process was mild and the activation of platelets was negligible. The encapsulation of living biological cells like platelets can serve as a model system in a wide range of biomedical applications including local and sustained drug delivery, immune protection of artificial tissues, and versatile artificial blood.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Financial support from the NSF (OISE-0737735), NSF EPSCoR RII, AO Foundation, Osteosynthesis and Trauma Care Foundation, and WV NASA EPSCoR is acknowledged. Project S-07-43L was supported by the AO Research Fund of the AO Foundation. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding agencies. Microscope experiments and image analysis were performed in part in the West Virginia University Imaging Facility, which is supported in part by the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center and NIH grant P20 RR016440. The authors also appreciate the use of the electron microscope at the Microscopic Imaging Facilities at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Morgantown, WV. The authors thank Diane Schwegler-Berry at NIOSH and Karen Martin at WVU for imaging, Bingbing Jiang for the critical point drying treatment of platelets, and Suzanne Smith for proofreading.
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Zhao, Q., Li, H. & Li, B. Nanoencapsulating living biological cells using electrostatic layer-by-layer self-assembly: Platelets as a model. Journal of Materials Research 26, 347–351 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2010.23
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2010.23