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Researchers from the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) have created silicon chips capable of altering the functioning of cells and measuring the processes that occur inside them, especially those related to cell division, their way of ‘multiplying’ . These devices, as small as half the length of a human hair, but so extremely thin that they are even 1,000 times less than the thickness of a hair, open new avenues of exploration in the field of nanomedicine, including possible future treatments. against diseases such as cancer. The study that explains its operation has just been published in the journal ‘Advanced Materials’.
“Until now, both the treatment of diseases and the study of the functioning of cells have been based on biochemistry,” he explains to ABC Jose Antonio Plazaresearcher at the Barcelona Institute of Microelectronics (IMB-CNM-CSIC) and coordinator of the project.
“But in recent decades it has been shown that mechanistic – that is, physically interfering with cells to change their functions – can be just as useful.” Put simply, influencing the ‘environment’ of the cell through ‘barriers’, such as these chips, may be a new avenue to explore.
That is why the Plaza team, together with the Margarita Salas Biological Research Center (CIB-CSIC) and with the participation of the Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology of the University of Barcelona (IN2UB), have created these silicon chips at the forefront Clean Room for Micro and Nanofabrication of the IMB-CNM-CSIC. “Here we manufacture them and store them in a solution that we then send to the CIB, where they grow the cells and then mix them with said solution,” he explains. Maria Isabel Arjona, a researcher on Plaza’s team. “They have such an affinity for silicon that they internalize it, and this influences cell division processes.”
From flat cells to spheres with stars
In laboratory cultures, cells are flat. However, when a cell divides (and gives rise to two new ‘daughter’ cells, somewhat like the form of cellular ‘reproduction’) it transforms into a kind of sphere. But these chips, which are ‘swallowed’ at the beginning of the process, are a barrier that does not allow them to divide. “We realized that depending on the type of chip design and its size, one thing or another happens: for example, if the chips are smaller than the cell, they tend to move them away to an area that does not prevent them from dividing. ; on the other hand, if they are as big as her, it influences the achromatic spindle of the cells, which is the structure that allows them to divide».
They also tested different designs: they found that chips shaped like estrella are more easily assimilated by cells, compared to chip-shaped disco, which are ‘swallowed’ by these with greater difficulty. “However, with the discs, all the cells die, which could be interesting for future medical treatments that want to eliminate a specific cell population.” Although, as the authors acknowledge, treatments based on this new technique “are still too futuristic”, we will be able to see future applications to understand the mechanics that govern the interior of cells, since it is possible to measure how these ‘bend’ chips during different cellular processes and interpret the forces that develop within them.
This research demonstrates how physical objects mechanically interfere with the cell cycle and alter it. “Preventing cell division or delaying it thanks to a mechanical obstacle can cause cell death and be key in future treatments in medicine. Our research shows that these tools could be a novel starting point for the study of different diseases, such as cancer,” he says. Teresa SuarezCIB-Margarita Salas researcher.
future applications
For the time being, the team has worked with HeLa cells, from cervical cancer (the oldest and most frequently used cell lineage in research), although they have also tested breast cells, human fibroblasts and mouse fibroblasts. “Although the design was optimized for HeLa-type cells, it also worked for the other two,” says Arjona. “Devices can be designed with controlled shapes and dimensions at the scale of microns and nanometers,” says Plaza.
This study looked only at 24 hours of cell life: from the time they are created until they divide. The next step, explains Plaza, will be to observe what happens to the cells that, despite the chips, manage to reproduce: “We suspect that the cells that manage to divide will have some kind of problem, but more research is needed for that.” Also, in parallel, the team is thinking of contacting institutions or companies that allow them to develop, for example, creams with these chips. “They could be used on the skin, but at the moment this is all basic science; applications will still take.
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