Abstract
RNA interference has become a powerful biological tool over the last decade. In this study, a tetracycline-inducible shRNA vector system was designed for silencing CFP expression and introduced alongside the yfp marker gene into Chinese hamster ovary cells using spatially indexed vertically aligned carbon nanofiber arrays (VACNFs) in a gene delivery process termed impalefection. The VACNF architecture provided simultaneous delivery of multiple genes, subsequent adherence and proliferation of interfaced cells, and repeated monitoring of single cells over time. 24 hours after nanofiber-mediated delivery, 53.1% � 10.4% of the cells that expressed the yfp marker gene were also fully silenced by the inducible CFP-silencing shRNA vector. Additionally, efficient CFP-silencing was observed in single cells among a population of cells that remained CFP-expressing. This effective transient expression system enables rapid analysis of gene silencing effects using RNAi in single cells and cell populations.