Introduction
Nanotechnology is the key to developing and creating structures that are so tiny that it is even impossible to view these things under a microscope.
This technology allows for the creation of nanofibers and other nano-sized materials. It has been well-documented that certain industries already benefited from the use of nanotechnology especially when it comes to the creation of nano-sized and yet greatly enhanced materials. It did not take long before scientists working in the field of biomedicine began to study nanotechnology, especially when it comes to the delivery of drugs and the construction of biological microenvironments (Yi et al.,p.189).
In recent years one of the most promising applications is the use of electrospraying to manipulate cells and transport them without compromising the integrity of the cell. A team of researchers discovered that bio-electrospraying is a viable method of transporting stem cells to engraft and repair an affected organ.
Nanotechnology
Before going any further it is important to have a clear grasp of the type of measurements that are involved when discussing nanotechnology. There are different opinions as to how one can accurately measure particles that are below the micro-level. However, most will agree that “you can think of nanotechnology dealing with anything measuring between 1 and 100 nm… larger than that is the microscale, and smaller than that is the atomic scale” (Bonsor & Strickland, p.2). Thus, it can be said that when people talk about nanotechnology then they refer to measurements that are smaller than those that can be found in the microscale.
One can just imagine the extreme minuteness of the particles and materials that belong to the world of nanotechnology. However, there is only one way to appreciate the importance of this technology by examining the products that scientists were able to produce using this technological framework.
The most significant contribution can be seen in the field of engineering as revealed in the following statement: “Engineers are trying to use nano-size wires to create smaller, more powerful microprocessors” (Bonsor & Strickland, p.2). Nanowires are wires with a diameter of 1 nm and as a result, these things can be utilized to build very tiny transistors for computer chips (Bonsor & Strickland, p.2). The implication is that computers can be very compact and yet very powerful at the same time.
There are also carbon nanotubes. Using nanotechnology scientists were able to line up carbons into sheets and afterward, they were able to roll these sheets. One byproduct of this process is a material that is hundreds of times stronger than steel and yet many times lighter (Bonsor & Strickland, p.3). These are exciting discoveries however, these are just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.
Another major benefit of nanotechnology is seen in the biomedical field. It can be used in the delivery of drugs and nucleic acids. In the pharmaceutical world, this is called the drug/gene delivery system or DGDS (Guan et al., p.115). Nanotechnology can be used to create nano-sized structures that can carry a particular drug or nucleic acid to its particular target. The conventional means of drug delivery is through
the form of free, unassociated molecules but health experts discovered that “This strategy is simple, but it is becoming increasingly limited in many conditions, especially in those involving the use of highly cytotoxic chemotherapeutics and environmentally sensitive biopharmaceutics” ( Guan et al., p.116). This simply means that the potency of the drug is undermined because it is unable to reach its target before being degraded by the environment.
Cell Electrospinning and Electrosprays
It has been proposed that electrospraying could be used in tandem with nanotechnology. This can be applied in biomedicine wherein medical experts can rebuild organic tissues in the same way that electrospinning is used to create microfibers. This idea is a result of rapid advances in the related field of electrospraying.
As early as 1934 a process was patented “wherein an experimental setup was outlined for the production of polymer filaments using electrostatic force… a high voltage is used to create an electrically charged jet of polymer solution or melt, which dries or solidifies to leave a polymer fiber” (Virginia Tech, p.1). This is why they can create microfibers from a polymer solution. If the same principle is used in medicine to create organic structures instead of microfibers the process is called cell electrospinning (Bartolovic, p.157).
Another technique in the creation of fine particles is the use of electrical force to generate a fine liquid aerosol. The conventional way of creating fine liquid aerosol is through pneumatic methods as gas forces a liquid solution out of the container so that it will effuse out of a nozzle.
Applying nanotechnology there is now a better way of doing that and it is by charing the liquid to a very high voltage as a result, “The charged liquid in the nozzle becomes unstable it is forced to hold more and more charge… soon the liquid reaches a critical point, at which it can hold no more electrical charge and at the tip of the nozzle it blows apart into a cloud of tiny, highly charged droplets” (New Objective, Inc., p.1).
Scientists are saying that if one will combine the different attributes of nanotechnology and electrospraying and use them in biomedicine, the result would be bio-electrospraying, a novel way of creating organic structures or biological microenvironments.
Bio-electrosprays
The concept is simple to understand but the byproduct of the bio-electrosprays is unknown. Using principles of electrospraying will reveal that bio-electrospraying utilizes electrical force to move cells out of prepared solution and into a specific target. This requires manipulating the cells and to some extent exposing them to a level of stress that may damage the cells and therefore prevent it from accomplishing their purpose. This is the first thing that comes to mind considering that cells are fragile organic structures that require an optimized environment to function and survive.
An experiment has to be conducted to determine if a cell can be manipulated to such an extent that it will be transported from a solution and targeted to a specific location in the body of a recipient and yet maintain its integrity. As mentioned earlier organic matter and living organisms are very sensitive to changes in the external environment. There is no need to elaborate on the fact that for bio-electrospraying to work the cells must not only be manipulated but also had to be charged using electrical force.
To answer these questions, a group of scientists devised a study wherein they can determine beyond doubt if indeed a cell that passes through a bio-electrospray system can be transported into a host tissue without adverse effects to the cell itself and the recipient. This was achieved by using stem cells as opposed to ordinary types of cells.
Furthermore, the said research team decided to use stem cells harvested from mice. At the same time, they flushed out bone marrow from mouse legs. The control group will be given a solution containing stem cells via ordinary methods of transplantation while the experimental group received stem cells via bio-electrospraying.
The team wanted to know if the stem cells that passed through the bio-electrospray equipment were not damaged considering the conditions the stem cells have to endure to move from the container to the leg of the mouse. Using Trypan blue staining techniques the research team discovered that there was no significant difference between the stem cells that came out of the bio-electrospray equipment and the stem cells that will be directly applied to the mouse leg in the control group.
It has to be pointed out that the mice went through an irradiation process that eliminated their bone marrow. If the stem cells that came from bio-electrospraying were altered or negatively affected by the process then this means that the stem cells will not function as expected. Thus, a short while after bio-electrospraying, the mice are expected to die because this means that the stem cells failed to engraft and repopulate the blood system with much-needed blood cells.
When the procedure was completed the research team discovered that there were no significant differences between bio-electrosprayed cells and controls and the results were even comparable to cells taken from untreated wild-type mice (Bartolovich et al., p.162).
The research team also conducted other tests such as the examination of the levels of myeloid cells, B cells, and T cells and they explained that this will indicate whether the stem cells had been affected by the jetting procedure as any damage to the cells could alter their homing, engraftment or differentiation potentials” (Bartolovic et al., p.163).
The team reported, “There is no significant difference between the proportion of myeloid cells, B cells and T cells in control mice (CC) and the recipients of cells subjected to bio-electrospraying (BES) for nay cell type examined in the peripheral blood, bone marrow or spleen” (Bartolovic et al., p.163). This is proof that bio-electrospraying has tremendous potential when it comes to biomedicine.
This is an important breakthrough because beforehand there were lingering questions with regards to the viability of bio-electrospraying in biomedicine. It is one thing to release fine particles using a solution full of chemicals and quite another to create fine mists containing live cells.
The use of the stem cells is also very crucial because it did not only show the safety of bio-electrospraying but also if the technique can negatively alter the structure of the cells to the extent that it can no longer function as expected. But in the said experiment the research team was able to demonstrate that the stem cells were was still capable of saving the life of a mouse. This is because the stem cells from BES were able to engraft and repopulate.
Conclusion
Nanotechnology has come a long way from developing microfibers and nanowires used in engineering and other industrial applications. In the 21st-century scientists are working towards the utilization of nanotechnology and applying it in the field of biomedicine. There is a consensus that to create nano-sized structures for DGDS purposes there is also a need to discover a system of delivery that will allow for pinpoint accuracy but at the same time ensure that the chemical or organic materials are not harmed or altered in the process.
This means that scientists had to adopt the use of electrospraying and transform it into bio-electrospraying. Researchers were able to demonstrate that bio-electrospraying is a viable tool to deliver cells because in one particular experiment stem cells were jetted from a charged needle and yet it did not negatively affect its structure and functions when applied to a dying animal.
This is a breakthrough because it can be used as a basis to explore other forms of the application be it in tissue grafting or the creation of biological microenvironments.
This means that instead of the use of a scalpel to remove skin tissue from a donor and graft it into the recipient, the use of bio-electrospraying can achieve the same result with pinpoint accuracy. However, there is much work to be done because it is not yet clear how to manipulate stem cells to create tissues and organs. Nevertheless, the result of this experiment is a step in the right direction.
Works Cited
Bartolovic, Kerol et al. “The differentiation and engraftment potential of mouse hematopoietic stem cells is maintained after bio-electrospray.” Analyst (2010): 157-164.
Bonsor, Kevin & Jonathan Strickland. “How nanotechnology works.” How Stuff Works. 1998. Web.
Guan, Jingjiao et al. “Polymeric nanoparticles and nanopore membranes for controlled drug and gene delivery.” Biomedical Nanostructures. (2008): 115-137. New Objective Inc. What is electrospray? Web.
Virginia Tech. 2011. Electrospinning. Web.
Yi, Allen et al. “Overview of Polymer micro/nanomanufacturing for biomedical applications.” Advances in Polymer Technology. 27.4 (2008): 188-198.