Abstract

Intracellular protein delivery suffers from poor cellular membrane permeability, limiting their access to intracellular targets. Current strategies to tackle these issues normally apply nanoscale carriers1. Here we report pyrene(py)-based molecules that form fluorescent photo-responsive coacervate microdroplets by liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) that can cross the cell membrane. A wide range of macromolecules, such as peptides, proteins from 14kDa to 430kDa, and antibodies can be efficiently recruited. The cargo-loaded coacervates are taken up by various cell lines, including cancer cells and normal cells, and achieve photo-triggered cargo release in the cytosol. This photo-responsive phase-separating molecule potentially opens new avenues for intracellular delivery of macromolecules and achievement of temporal and spatial regulation.

Reference:

Scaletti, F.; Hardie, J.; Lee, Y. W.; Luther, D. C.; Ray, M.; Rotello, V. M. Chem. Soc. Rev. 2018, 47, 3421–3432.