Doped Silicon Nanowires for the Selective Modulation of Single-cells

SUMMARY

• Electric stimulation of organs with implantable devices has demonstrated clinical utility for the treatment of a variety of diseases such as cardiac arrythmia. However, use of these technologies remains high risk, requiring either surgical implantation or permanent gene editing.
• The inventors synthesized silicon nanowires that are doped with gold catalyst that when irradiated with cell penetrating sub-UV light, initiate a specific cellular response in excitable cells. The wires are targeted to a specific cell population by attenuating wire surface functionalization, can be delivered in a pharmaceutical formulation, and require no implanted power source.
• The product is an optical stimulation system of doped silicon nanowires (PIN-SiNWs) that initiate membrane depolarization in a specific cell type, in turn resulting in a specific cellular response. Light irradiation protocols can be designed to provoke a desired cell response such as T cell inactivation or neuronal action potential.
• The inventors demonstrated the capability of their silicone nanowires to induce local depolarization or an action potential in primary rat dorsal root ganglion neurons as measured by micropipette photocurrent electrodes. They further demonstrated the ability of the nanowires to specifically deactivate T cells, as measured by a decrease in ERK phosphorylation.

FIGURE

ADVANTAGES

ADVANTAGES

• Cell specific
• Less Invasive
• No genetic modifications required
• Deliverable in drug-like fashion
• Programable degradation time

APPLICATIONS

• Immunotherapy (T cell or B cell modulation)
• Pain disorder therapy (Neuron modulation)

PUBLICATIONS

• Parameswarn, R; et al. Photoelectrochemical modulation of neuronal activity with free-standing coaxial silicon nanowires. Nat Nanotechnol. 2018 Mar; 13 (3): 260-266.

July 23, 2019

In vivo proof of concept

Patent Pending

Licensing

Erin Adams

• PCT/US19/18620