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Review
. 2018 Oct 25;13(1):339.
doi: 10.1186/s11671-018-2728-6.

Insight into Cellular Uptake and Intracellular Trafficking of Nanoparticles

Parisa Foroozandeh  1 , Azlan Abdul Aziz  2   3
Affiliations
Review

Insight into Cellular Uptake and Intracellular Trafficking of Nanoparticles

Parisa Foroozandeh et al. Nanoscale Res Lett. .

Abstract

Nanoparticle science is rapidly changing the landscape of various scientific fields and defining new technological platforms. This is perhaps even more evident in the field of nanomedicine whereby nanoparticles have been used as a tool for the treatment and diagnosis of many diseases. However, despite the tremendous benefit conferred, common pitfalls of this technology is its potential short and long-term effects on the human body. To understand these issues, many scientific studies have been carried out. This review attempts to shed light on some of these studies and its outcomes. The topics that were examined in this review include the different possible uptake pathways of nanoparticles and intracellular trafficking routes. Additionally, the effect of physicochemical properties of nanoparticle such as size, shape, charge and surface chemistry in determining the mechanism of uptake and biological function of nanoparticles are also addressed.

Keywords: Cellular uptake; Cytotoxicity; Intracellular trafficking; Nanomedicine; Nanoparticles.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Entry of NPs into cell using different endocytotic pathways. a Macropinocytosis and phagocytosis. b Clathrin-mediated endocytosis, clathrin-caveolin independent endocytosis and caveolae-mediated endocytosis
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Physicochemical factors that affect cellular uptake of NP. a Surface charge, b shape, c size and d surface chemistry
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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