Premium
Acoustic Propulsion of Nanorod Motors Inside Living Cells
Author(s) -
Wang Wei,
Li Sixing,
Mair Lamar,
Ahmed Suzanne,
Huang Tony Jun,
Mallouk Thomas E.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201309629
Subject(s) - propulsion , materials science , intracellular , nanorod , nanotechnology , hela , rod , biophysics , chemistry , cell , aerospace engineering , biology , engineering , biochemistry , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology
Abstract The ultrasonic propulsion of rod‐shaped nanomotors inside living HeLa cells is demonstrated. These nanomotors (gold rods about 300 nm in diameter and about 3 μm long) attach strongly to the external surface of the cells, and are readily internalized by incubation with the cells for periods longer than 24 h. Once inside the cells, the nanorod motors can be activated by resonant ultrasound operating at 4 MHz, and show axial propulsion as well as spinning. The intracellular propulsion does not involve chemical fuels or high‐power ultrasound and the HeLa cells remain viable. Ultrasonic propulsion of nanomotors may thus provide a new tool for probing the response of living cells to internal mechanical excitation, for controllably manipulating intracellular organelles, and for biomedical applications.