CryoTEM characterization of dual-functional lipid-like nanoparticles

Multi-functional nanomaterials possess manifold properties. Extensive interest aroused recently in developing biomedical nanomaterials that target for both therapeutic and diagnostic applications. An ongoing collaboration between CEMAS and the College of Pharmacy aims to construct multifunctional drug delivery system and visualize them directly under CryoTEM. CryoTEM is an efficient method to visualize lipid-like nanoparticles under their native status at liquid nitrogen temperature.    

Assistant Professor Dr. Yizhou Dong and graduate student Xiao Luo designed and constructed dual-functional TT3 lipid-like nanoparticles for delivery of mRNA and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast Agent simultaneously. This system provides a non-invasive imaging strategy and enables image-guided mRNA delivery. Binbin Deng, Senior Research Officer at CEMAS, utilized the CryoTEM method to reveal the irregular morphology of TT3-Gd18 lipid-like nanoparticles. The particles observed under CyoTEM have relatively homogenous size which was consistent with the measurements from dynamic light scarrering (DLS). 

Luo, X., B. Li, X. Zhang, W. Zhao, A. Bratasz, B. Deng, D. W. McComb and Y. Dong (2017). "Dual-functional lipid-like nanoparticles for delivery of mRNA and MRI contrast agents." Nanoscale 9(4): 1575-1579.