Oxidized Carbon Black: Preparation, Characterization and Application in Antibody Delivery across Cell Membrane

Modulating biomolecular networks in cells with peptides and proteins has become a promising therapeutic strategy and effective biological tools. A simple and effective reagent that can bring functional proteins into cells can increase efficacy and allow more investigations. Here we show that the relatively non-toxic and non-immunogenic oxidized carbon black particles (OCBs) prepared from commercially available carbon black can deliver a 300 kDa protein directly into cells, without an involvement of a cellular endocytosis. Experiments with cell-sized liposomes indicate that OCBs directly interact with phospholipids and induce membrane leakages. Delivery of human monoclonal antibodies (HuMAbs, 150 kDa) with specific affinity towards dengue viruses (DENV) into DENV-infected Vero cells by OCBs results in HuMAbs distribution all over cells’ interior and effective viral neutralization. An ability of OCBs to deliver big functional/therapeutic proteins into cells should open doors for more protein drug investigations and new levels of antibody therapies and biological studies.