Nanoparticle elasticity regulates phagocytosis and cancer cell uptake

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Author(s)
Hui, Yue
Yi, Xin
Wibowo, David
Yang, Guangze
Middelberg, Anton
Gao, Huajian
Zhao, Chunxia
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2020
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The ability of cells to sense external mechanical cues is essential for their adaptation to the surrounding microenvironment. However, how nanoparticle mechanical properties affect cell-nanoparticle interactions remains largely unknown. Here, we synthesized a library of silica nanocapsules (SNCs) with a wide range of elasticity (Young’s modulus ranging from 560 kPa to 1.18 GPa), demonstrating the impact of SNC elasticity on SNC interactions with cells. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the stiff SNCs remained spherical during cellular uptake. The soft SNCs, however, were deformed by forces originating from the ...
View more >The ability of cells to sense external mechanical cues is essential for their adaptation to the surrounding microenvironment. However, how nanoparticle mechanical properties affect cell-nanoparticle interactions remains largely unknown. Here, we synthesized a library of silica nanocapsules (SNCs) with a wide range of elasticity (Young’s modulus ranging from 560 kPa to 1.18 GPa), demonstrating the impact of SNC elasticity on SNC interactions with cells. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the stiff SNCs remained spherical during cellular uptake. The soft SNCs, however, were deformed by forces originating from the specific ligand-receptor interaction and membrane wrapping, which reduced their cellular binding and endocytosis rate. This work demonstrates the crucial role of the elasticity of nanoparticles in modulating their macrophage uptake and receptor-mediated cancer cell uptake, which may shed light on the design of drug delivery vectors with higher efficiency.
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View more >The ability of cells to sense external mechanical cues is essential for their adaptation to the surrounding microenvironment. However, how nanoparticle mechanical properties affect cell-nanoparticle interactions remains largely unknown. Here, we synthesized a library of silica nanocapsules (SNCs) with a wide range of elasticity (Young’s modulus ranging from 560 kPa to 1.18 GPa), demonstrating the impact of SNC elasticity on SNC interactions with cells. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the stiff SNCs remained spherical during cellular uptake. The soft SNCs, however, were deformed by forces originating from the specific ligand-receptor interaction and membrane wrapping, which reduced their cellular binding and endocytosis rate. This work demonstrates the crucial role of the elasticity of nanoparticles in modulating their macrophage uptake and receptor-mediated cancer cell uptake, which may shed light on the design of drug delivery vectors with higher efficiency.
View less >
Journal Title
Science Advances
Volume
6
Issue
16
Copyright Statement
© 2020 The Authors. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license, which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, so long as the resultant use is not for commercial advantage and provided the original work is properly cited.
Subject
Powder and particle technology
Functional materials
Nanomedicine