Beijing Municipal Key Laboratory of Resource Environment and GIS, College of Resource Environment and Tourism, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, China.
Soft Matter. 2017 Jul 5;13(26):4644-4652. doi: 10.1039/c7sm00345e.
Understanding the interaction between nanoparticles (NPs) and cell membranes is crucial for the design of NP-based drug delivery systems and for the assessment of the risks exerted by the NPs. Recent experimental and theoretical studies have shown that cell membranes can mediate attraction between NPs and form tubular structures to wrap multiple NPs. However, the cooperative wrapping process is still not well understood, and the shape effect of NPs is not considered. In this article, we use large-scale coarse-grained molecular dynamics (CGMD) simulations to study the cooperative wrapping of NPs when a varying number of NPs adhered to the membrane. Spherical, prolate and oblate NPs of different sizes are considered in this study. We find that, in addition to tubular structures, the membrane can form a pocket-like and a handle-like structure to wrap multiple NPs depending on the size and shape of the NPs. Furthermore, we find that NPs can mediate membrane hemifusion or fusion during this process. Our findings provide new insights into the interaction of NPs with the cell membrane.
了解纳米颗粒（NPs）与细胞膜之间的相互作用对于基于 NPs 的药物输送系统的设计以及评估 NPs 所产生的风险至关重要。最近的实验和理论研究表明，细胞膜可以介导 NPs 之间的吸引力，并形成管状结构来包裹多个 NPs。然而，协同包裹过程仍未得到很好的理解，并且没有考虑 NPs 的形状效应。在本文中，我们使用大规模粗粒化分子动力学（CGMD）模拟来研究当细胞膜上附着的 NPs 数量发生变化时，NPs 的协同包裹情况。在这项研究中，我们考虑了不同大小的球形、扁长形和扁球形 NPs。我们发现，除了管状结构之外，根据 NPs 的大小和形状，细胞膜还可以形成袋状和手柄状结构来包裹多个 NPs。此外，我们发现 NPs 可以在这个过程中介导膜半融合或融合。我们的研究结果为 NPs 与细胞膜相互作用提供了新的见解。
