KAUST scientists develop nanoscale drug factory to produce medicine inside cells

JEDDAH: Scientists at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) have developed nanoscale particles that can deliver six proteins into living cells. These proteins work together as a tiny “drug factory” to produce violacein, a compound with potential therapeutic applications.

The study, announced in a KAUST news release, demonstrates an early step toward future therapies that could produce treatment compounds directly inside the body, targeting only affected areas. This approach might enable more precise treatment at disease sites while reducing side effects on healthy tissue.

Published in Advanced Materials, the research combines nanotechnology, materials science, and bioengineering to address the challenge of simultaneously delivering multiple proteins into cells to enable coordinated biological functions.

The team encapsulated six proteins within porous, sponge-like metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), creating synthetic organelles that mimic natural cell functions.

Once inside mammalian cells, these proteins remained active and sequentially converted an amino acid into violacein. This represents the most complex multiprotein system delivered into living cells so far and the first instance of a “protein pathway transplant.”

Raik Grunberg, senior scientist at KAUST and co-author, noted, “Protein delivery into the cell is difficult enough for individual proteins, so researchers usually do not even try with more than one or two. What we show here is that we can take a whole integrated protein system … and bring it into human cells as one functional unit.”

Professor Niveen Khashab explained that the team overcame major technical challenges after traditional MOF materials caused proteins to lose activity. “By engineering a more porous, sponge-like framework, we created an environment where the system could finally work as intended,” she said.

The platform’s design is adaptable, allowing scientists to fine-tune protein interactions within cells, potentially leading to programmable therapies tailored to specific diseases.

Stefan T. Arold, a bioscience professor at KAUST and co-author, highlighted that this project shows how integrating biology and materials science can unlock new therapeutic avenues.

Although still in early stages and requiring further validation before clinical application, the researchers believe this technology points toward future treatments that produce beneficial compounds directly within diseased tissue, minimizing side effects elsewhere. The team plans to test the system in animal models as part of ongoing research to explore its therapeutic potential.