Theoretical Soft Matter and Biophysics, Institute of Complex Systems and Institute for Advanced Simulation, Forschungszentrum Jülich , D-52425 Jülich, Germany.
Nano Lett. 2014 Feb 12;14(2):687-93. doi: 10.1021/nl403949h. Epub 2014 Jan 9.
Recent advances in nanotechnology have made a whole zoo of particles of different shapes available for applications, but their interaction with biological cells and their toxicity is often not well understood. Experiments have shown that particle uptake by cells is determined by an intricate interplay between physicochemical particle properties like shape, size, and surface functionalization, but also by membrane properties and particle orientation. Our work provides systematic understanding, based on a mechanical description, for membrane wrapping of nanoparticles, viruses, and bacterial forms. For rod-like particles, we find stable endocytotic states with small and high wrapping fraction; an increased aspect ratio is unfavorable for complete wrapping. For high aspect ratios and round tips, the particles enter via a submarine mode, side-first with their long edge parallel to the membrane. For small aspect ratios and flat tips, the particles enter tip-first via a rocket mode.
近年来，纳米技术的发展使得各种不同形状的粒子可应用于不同领域，但其与生物细胞的相互作用及其毒性往往还不太清楚。实验表明，细胞对粒子的摄取取决于粒子的物理化学性质（如形状、大小和表面功能化）与膜性质和粒子取向之间的复杂相互作用。我们的工作基于机械描述，为纳米粒子、病毒和细菌形态的膜包裹提供了系统的理解。对于棒状粒子，我们发现具有小包裹分数和高包裹分数的稳定内吞状态；高纵横比不利于完全包裹。对于高纵横比和圆形尖端，粒子以潜艇模式进入，长边缘与膜平行，侧向进入。对于小纵横比和平坦尖端，粒子以火箭模式以尖端首先进入。
