A central theme in nanotechnology designed for biomedical applications is the intelligent design of “smart” nanomaterials for translational applications such as drug delivery, sensing, cell-labeling, and imaging. These engineered nanomaterials must be designed to interact with and function in a living host environment without undergoing biological transformations that result in loss of function and stability. To achieve such systems, we must fill the gap in knowledge regarding our understanding of how the architectural design of nanomaterials affects nanoparticle-biological interactions (NBIs) such as their biological transformations, motility, endocytosis, exocytosis, and clearance mechanisms. Furthermore, given the critical need to successfully transform nanomaterials into efficient drug delivery and imaging agents, well-defined nanomaterials with tightly-controlled size and shape whose NBIs are well understood are of significant interest. Here we will describe the design of membrane encapsulated nanoparticles of varying size, shape, and surface composition. A variety of surface architectures designed to engage and enhance cellular uptake will be presented and discussed. We will also examine how the structure of the surface ligands and their charge affect cellular uptake, retention, and toxicity in vitro using a variety of cell lines and in vivo. Transmission electron and confocal microscopy will be used to visualize the uptake of the nanomaterials. Collectively, we expect that the use of well-characterized AuNPs of constrained shape, size, and surface architecture should allow us to tease apart specific nanoparticle features that drive NBIs and mechanisms of endocytosis and exocytosis so that we can harness this knowledge to redirect their behavior to overcome their translational barriers in vivo.

Engaging nanoparticle-cell interactions through “smart” design

256th National Meeting (2018)

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