The researchers estimate that the development will advance the construction of systems for storing biomolecules and drugs and their efficient and controlled release when needed by external stimulation, using light
Researchers at Tel Aviv University have developed a new technology that will allow, for the first time in the world, control over the storage and release of molecules through exposure to light - UV radiation.
The researchers explain that storing molecules is considered a significant challenge in industry and the scientific world: the ability to keep them isolated is not an easy task since the molecules tend to break down and react with other substances. The cutting-edge technology may lead to a solution to the problem, by making it possible to store many molecules in a single storage cell. The researchers estimate that the development will advance the construction of systems for storing biomolecules and drugs and their efficient and controlled release when needed by external stimulation, through light.
The research was conducted under the leadership of doctoral student Itai Katzir and the guidance of Dr. Ila Lampel from the Shemunis School of Biomedical Research and Cancer Research in the Faculty of Life Sciences of Tel Aviv University. The research was published in the prestigious journal "Advanced Materials".
The researchers explain that the new system was developed inspired by the infection system of the measles virus. When this virus infects a human cell, it creates an "organella" (organ) that functions as a factory for the production of viruses, and is therefore called a viral factory. Recently, several studies have shown that these virus factories are liquid structures that are formed in the process of phase separation inside the cell.
Inspired by the viral protein responsible for the creation of these factories, the research team produced a peptide (short protein) that mimics the function of the measles protein, and its goal is to create viral factory-like structures for the storage and confinement of biomolecules. In addition, after the creation of the new technology, the researchers introduced another unique element that would allow controlling the process of storing and releasing molecules by projecting light onto the structure.
Dr. Lampel: "Our goal was to engineer a complex of a peptide combined with RNA that would allow the storage of molecules in liquid structures (liquid droplets) that preserve the dynamism and the special structures of various biological and chemical molecules. The peptide and the RNA together form structures of liquid droplets, which resemble viral factories. Later we added a protective group to the peptide that is released through exposure to UV radiation. Structures with the protecting group have a better ability to store molecules in the content compared to structures without the protecting group. Therefore, by exposing the system to light radiation in the UV range and releasing the protective group, it is possible to control the release of the stored molecules, and thus we created a system that allows a stimulus-dependent controlled release."
Dr. Lampel concludes: "Another thing that is special about our system is the ability to put many molecules into one storage compartment, which is not possible today with the existing technologies. This is a technology with great potential in biomedical applications including transport, storage and controlled and slow release of drugs, vaccines or other therapeutic biomolecules.'
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