Intracellular localization of titanium dioxide-biomolecule nanocomposites

Emerging areas of nanotechnology hold the promise of overcoming the limitations of existing technology for intracellular manipulation. These new developments include the creation of nanocomposites that can be introduced into the cells, targeted to specific subcellular sites, and subsequently used as platforms for initiation of intracellular processes dependent on or aided by locally high concentrations of specific molecules delivered as components of the nanocomposites. Nanocomposites that combine functional properties of biomolecules with the functional properties of inorganic components could provide new tools for biology, medicine, chemistry and material sciences. Here we describe how we introduced TiO₂-DNA nanocomposites into cells, and localized titanium in the cells by mapping the Ti Kα X-ray fluorescence induced at the 2-ID-E microprobe of the SRI-CAT at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory.