Nanocontainers made of biological materials to enter cells

Microscope image of a living human cancer cell in culture. Its actin cytoskeleton has been stained with fluorescently labelled phalloidin. Scientists delivered this toxic substance into the cell using newly developed nanocontainers, and thus demonstrated that the containers can transport substances which usually cannot pass through cell membranes into cells. Kudruk & Pottanam Chali et al./Adv Sci 2021 (modified colours) - Nanocontainers made of biological materials use natural processes to enter cells and release their cargo / Study published in the journal "Advanced Science" Nanocontainers can transport substances into cells where they can then take effect. This is the method used in, for example, the mRNA vaccines currently being employed against Covid-19 as well as certain cancer drugs. In research, similar transporters can also be used to deliver labelled substances into cells in order to study basic cellular functions. To take advantage of their full potential, scientists are conducting intensive research into how nanocontainers interact with biological environments and how they have to be chemically constructed to deliver cargo into cells in the gentlest and most controllable way possible.