Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany.
Small. 2012 Jul 23;8(14):2222-30. doi: 10.1002/smll.201102002. Epub 2012 Apr 23.
Among several nanoparticle properties, shape is important for their interaction with cells and, therefore, relevant for uptake studies and applications. In order to further investigate such characteristics, fluorescently labeled spherical polymer nanoparticles are synthesized by free-radical polymerization via the miniemulsion process. The spherical nanoparticles are subsequently submitted to controlled mechanical deformation to yield quasi-ellipsoidal polymeric nanoparticles with different aspect ratios. The uptake behaviors of spherical and non-spherical particles with equal volume are investigated qualitatively and quantitatively by electron microscopy, confocal laser scanning microscopy, and flow cytometry measurements. Non-spherical particles show fewer uptake by cells than their spherical counterparts with a negative correlation between aspect ratio and uptake rate. This is attributed to the larger average curvature radius of adsorbed non-spherical particles experienced by the cells.
在几种纳米粒子特性中，形状对于它们与细胞的相互作用很重要，因此与摄取研究和应用相关。为了进一步研究这些特性，通过 miniemulsion 工艺通过自由基聚合合成了荧光标记的球形聚合物纳米粒子。随后，将这些球形纳米粒子进行受控的机械变形，以得到具有不同纵横比的准椭圆形聚合物纳米粒子。通过电子显微镜、共聚焦激光扫描显微镜和流式细胞术测量，定性和定量地研究了具有相同体积的球形和非球形颗粒的摄取行为。与球形颗粒相比，非球形颗粒的细胞摄取量较少，并且摄取率与纵横比呈负相关。这归因于细胞所经历的吸附非球形颗粒的平均曲率半径较大。
