Quantitative Relation between Nanoparticle Characters and Endocytic Cellar Uptake

Abstract

Risks of Nanoparticle should be assessed comprehensively by their physicochemical characteristics. However, such assessment has not been conducted because various physicochemical parameters and end points are involved. The relationship between one characteristic and the specific effect has to be analyzed in order to conduct sufficient risk assessment of nanomaterials. In this study, it was found that there was the quantitative relationship between the specific surface modification/size of nanoparticle and the endocytic uptake of alveolar epithelial cells. The results indicate that the amount of cellular uptake of nanoparticles is independent of the surface modification, but it depends on the particle size. The uptake rate is high in the order of COOH＞NH₂＞plain on the surface modification and faster as the particle size increases. It was suggested that uptake rate depends on the surface potential and the hydrophilicity.