UC San Diego

Cell membranes have been widely used to create biomimetic nanoparticlesfor targeted drug delivery and detoxification. However, intracellular organelle membranes have not been used for biomimetic nanoparticle coating thus far. In this study, outer mitochondrial membranes (OMM) were used to coat PLGA cores to create OMM-coated nanoparticles (OMM-NPs). The B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) receptors specific to the OMM enabled targeted detoxification of ABT-263, an anticancer Bcl-2 inhibitor. The OMM-NPs successfully decreased cell death in vitro and decreased ABT-263 induced-thrombocytopenia in vivo. OMM membranes were also used to coat the surface of Field Effect Transistors (FETs) to make OMM-FETs. These devices were successfully able to distinguish between different concentrations of compounds with Bcl-2 affinity. This study demonstrates that organelle membranes can help extend the functionality of nanomaterials and their unique surface receptors make them useful in targeted drug detoxification and detection.