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Intracellular Delivery by Membrane Disruption: Mechanisms, Strategies, and Concepts.

Created on 28 Sep 2026

Authors

Martin P Stewart, Robert Langer, Klavs F Jensen

Published in

Chemical reviews. Volume 118. Issue 16. Pages 7409-7531. Aug 22, 2018. Epub Jul 27, 2018.

Abstract

Intracellular delivery is a key step in biological research and has enabled decades of biomedical discoveries. It is also becoming increasingly important in industrial and medical applications ranging from biomanufacture to cell-based therapies. Here, we review techniques for membrane disruption-based intracellular delivery from 1911 until the present. These methods achieve rapid, direct, and universal delivery of almost any cargo molecule or material that can be dispersed in solution. We start by covering the motivations for intracellular delivery and the challenges associated with the different cargo types-small molecules, proteins/peptides, nucleic acids, synthetic nanomaterials, and large cargo. The review then presents a broad comparison of delivery strategies followed by an analysis of membrane disruption mechanisms and the biology of the cell response. We cover mechanical, electrical, thermal, optical, and chemical strategies of membrane disruption with a particular emphasis on their applications and challenges to implementation. Throughout, we highlight specific mechanisms of membrane disruption and suggest areas in need of further experimentation. We hope the concepts discussed in our review inspire scientists and engineers with further ideas to improve intracellular delivery.

PMID:
30052023
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 28 Sep 2026.

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