This award will support the fabrication of a new kind of metal particle, by lithography and metal deposition, and the testing of these particles in important areas of biological research. These designer particles will be produced and tested for biolistics-mediated genetic transformation of plant and mammalian cells. The particular biological testing studies to be conducted with the designer particles include (1) a comparative study of plant genetic transformation efficiency by biolistics between the gold designer particles and conventional tungsten and gold particles (2) the use of cobalt designer particles for the study of the viscoelastic response of model tissues by the using magnetic tweezers to apply oscillating or static forces to magnetic designer particles embedded in the model tissue, and (3) a comparative study of mammalian cell transformation efficiency by biolistics between conventional gold particles and gold designer particles. These studies will include the delivery of DNA vaccines, green fluorescent protein-myosin fusion proteins, and molecules controlling assembly and disassembly of neuronal processes in the retina, mutant ion channels.
