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Tracy Hampton, PhD

JAMA. 2007;298:505.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

A team led by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of California, San Francisco, have used silicon nanowires to transfer genetic material into cells (Kim W et al. J Am Chem Soc. 2007;129[23]:7228-7229).

The researchers cultured cells on an array of nanowires, each about 3 to 6 µm long and less than 100 nm in diameter. As the cells grew and divided, the nanowires penetrated individual cells without any external forces applied. The cells survived for up to several days; longevity was highly dependent on nanowire diameter.

Researchers have transferred genetic material into cells cultured on silicon nanowires. (Image reproduced with permission from J Am Chem Soc. 2007;129[23]:7228-7229.) (Photo credit: American Chemical Society)

When the investigators cultured human embryonic kidney cells on nanowires coated with DNA coding for green fluorescence protein, the cells took up the genetic material and glowed green, . . . [Full Text of this Article]