The effect of particle shape and size on cellular uptake.

Particle shape and size have been well-recognized to exhibit important effect on drug delivery and as an excellent candidate for drug delivery applications. The recent advances in the "top-down" and "bottom-up" approaches make it possible to develop different shaped and sized polymeric nanostructures, which provide a chance to tailor the shape of the nanostructures as a drug carrier. Presently, a large amount of cellular uptake data is available for particle shape and size effect on drug delivery. However, the effect has not been well formulated or described quantitatively. In the present paper, the dynamic process of the effects of particle shape and size on cellular uptake is analyzed, quantitative expression for the influence of particle shape and size on cellular uptake is proposed on the basis of local geometric feature of particle shape and diffusion approach of a particle in a medium rationally, and the relevant parameters in the formulation are determined by the available test data. The results indicate the validity of the present formulations.