Fabrication of piezoelectric components for a tunable and efficient device for DNA delivery into mammalian cells

• A systematic study uses three piezoelectric components with various frequencies to produce ultrasound with tailored power.
• The influence of ultrasound on the transfection efficiency and cytotoxicity of cells was evaluated.
• PZT devices under optimal conditions help to avoid cytotoxicity and greatly increased DNA delivery in mammalian cells.
• The efficiency of DNA delivery has reached more than 700% increase over polymer/DNA complexes without PZT treatment.

We fabricated three piezoelectric components (PZT) that can produce ultrasonic waves with various generated power in order to improve the delivery of DNA molecule and polymer/DNA complexes into cells. Two cationic polymers (PEI and PDMAEMA) were interacted with DNA to form nano-scaled DNA/polymer complexes with/without the help of PZT devices. The application of PZT devices under optimal conditions helped to avoid cytotoxicity and greatly increased the transfection (DNA delivery) efficiency of these complexes in mammalian cells. The cytotoxicity and transfection efficiency were found to be correlated with the PZT-generated power, waveforms and duration of ultrasonic treatment. There was no observable cytotoxicity in our experimental models and, a maximum transfection efficiency 700% greater than that of polymer/DNA complexes without applying ultrasound was achieved. The transfection efficiency of plain polymer/DNA complexes (without PZT treatment) corresponded to a 630-fold increase in comparison to the naked DNA. The waveforms of generated ultrasound greatly influenced the transfection efficiency, while cytotoxicity was not significantly affected. This means that, for optimal DNA delivery, duration of the peak voltage (Vmax/Div) also plays a role. In addition, the generated waves from PZT do not cause dissociation of polymer/DNA complexes or a change in the particle sizes of these complexes. In conclusion, these results suggest that the operation of PZT devices can be a tunable/safe way to greatly improve DNA delivery for gene therapy.