A quantitative understanding of the cellular uptake and sub-cellular distributions of nanoparticles is of key importance to the development of effective nanomedicine. With gold nanospheres as a model system, here I will discuss how to quantify the number of nanospheres uptaken by cells, as well as their numbers bound to plasma membrane, accumulated in cytosol, and entrapped in endo-lysosomes, respectively, through stepwise, site-selective etching. Our analysies indicate that the chance for nanoparticles to escape from endo-lysosomes is insensitive to the presence of targeting ligand although ligand-receptor binding has been documented as a critical factor in triggering internalization. Furthermore, the presence of serum proteins is shown to facilitate the binding of nanoparticles to plasma membrane lacking the specific receptor. Collectively, these findings confirm the potential of stepwise etching in quantitatively analyzing the sub-cellular distributions of nanospheres uptaken by cells in an effort to optimize the therapeutic effect.<br/>

Quantifying the cellular uptake and sub-cellular distributions of nanoparticles

256th National Meeting (2018)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.