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Imagine trying to poke a hole in the yolk of a raw egg without breaking the egg white. It sounds impossible, but researchers at the University of California San Diego have developed a technology that performs a similarly delicate task in living cells.

They created an array of nanopillars that can breach the nucleus of a cell—the compartment that houses our DNA—without damaging the cell's outer membrane.

The research, published in Advanced Functional Materials, could open new possibilities in gene therapy, where genetic material needs to be delivered directly into the nucleus, as well as drug delivery and other forms of precision medicine.

"We've developed a tool that can easily create a gateway into the nucleus," said Zeinab Jahed, professor in the Aiiso Yufeng Li Family Department of Chemical and Nano Engineering at UC San Diego and senior author of the study.

The nucleus is impenetrable by design. Its membrane is a highly fortified barrier that shields our genetic code, letting in only specific molecules through tightly controlled channels. "It's not easy to get anything into the nucleus," said Jahed. "Drug and gene delivery through the nuclear membrane has long been an immense challenge."

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