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Chen H, Dong X, Ou L, Ma C, Yuan B, Yang K. Thermal-controlled cellular uptake of "hot" nanoparticles. NANOSCALE 2023; 15:12718-12727. [PMID: 37470374 DOI: 10.1039/d3nr02449k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/21/2023]
Abstract
Nanoparticles (NPs) have shown immense potential in the field of biomedical applications, particularly in NP-based photothermal therapy, which offers a remote-controlled approach to achieve precise temperature control for site-specific heating and sub-cellular tumor treatment. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying related cellular activities, such as the cellular uptake behavior of irradiated NPs in photothermal effects, remain elusive. In this study, we conducted a thorough investigation of the interaction between an irradiated NP with elevated temperature (ranging from 270 to 360 K) and a model bilayer membrane composed of DPPC or DOPC using nonequilibrium coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations with the implicit-solvent Dry Martini force field. We observe that the interaction between a "hot" NP and a membrane is thermally regulated. In addition, the wrapping of membranes around NPs exhibits a strong dependence on the temperature of the irradiated NP, demonstrating a step-like change in behavior. This membrane wrapping effect is attributed to the heat conduction between NPs and membrane lipids, which occurs almost simultaneously with the membrane deformation and wrapping of NPs during the NP-membrane interaction process. Especially, during the process of heat conduction, a gel-to-fluid phase transition of the membrane may occur, which plays a crucial role in determining the deformation behavior of the membrane. Moreover, it is found that the membrane lipids in the two leaflets exhibit obvious and asymmetric molecular-level responses to heat flux, characterized by significant changes in packing states (e.g., the order parameter of lipid tails and area per lipid) and possible interdigitation between lipids. Furthermore, the thermal-controlled wrapping effect is tightly linked to the properties of NPs (e.g., size, NP-lipid affinity) and lipid species. Our findings are valuable for comprehending the thermal-regulated cellular internalization of NPs and offer insights into devising strategies to precisely modulate NP endocytosis by exploiting the interplay between heating and NP properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haibo Chen
- Center for Soft Condensed Matter Physics and Interdisciplinary Research & School of Physical Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, Jiangsu, China.
| | - Xuewei Dong
- Center for Soft Condensed Matter Physics and Interdisciplinary Research & School of Physical Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, Jiangsu, China.
| | - Luping Ou
- Center for Soft Condensed Matter Physics and Interdisciplinary Research & School of Physical Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, Jiangsu, China.
| | - Chiyun Ma
- Center for Soft Condensed Matter Physics and Interdisciplinary Research & School of Physical Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, Jiangsu, China.
| | - Bing Yuan
- Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, Dongguan 523808, Guangdong, China
| | - Kai Yang
- Center for Soft Condensed Matter Physics and Interdisciplinary Research & School of Physical Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, Jiangsu, China.
- Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, Dongguan 523808, Guangdong, China
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2
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Wei Y, Chen H, Li YX, He K, Yang K, Pang HB. Synergistic Entry of Individual Nanoparticles into Mammalian Cells Driven by Free Energy Decline and Regulated by Their Sizes. ACS NANO 2022; 16:5885-5897. [PMID: 35302738 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.1c11068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Cell entry is one of the common prerequisites for nanomaterial applications. Despite extensive studies on a homogeneous group of nanoparticles (NPs), fewer studies have been performed when two or more types of NPs were coadministrated. We previously described a synergistic cell entry process for two heterogeneous groups of NPs, where NPs functionalized with TAT (transactivator of transcription) peptide (T-NPs) stimulate the cellular uptake of coadministered unfunctionalized NPs (bystander NPs, B-NPs). Here, we show that the synergistic cell entry of NPs is driven by free energy decline and depends on B-NP sizes. Simulations showed that when separately placed initially, two NPs first move toward each other instead of initiating cell entry individually. Only T-NP invokes an inward bending of membrane mimicking endocytosis, which attracts the nearby NPs into the same "vesicle". A two-phase free energy decline of the entire system occurred as two NPs get closer until contact, which is likely the thermodynamic driver for synergistic NP coentry. Experimentally, we found that T-NPs increase the apparent affinity of B-NPs to plasma membrane, suggesting that T-NPs help B-NPs "trapped" in the endocytic vesicles. Next, we varied the sizes of B-NPs and found that bystander activity peaks around 50 nm. Simulations also showed that the size of B-NPs influences the free energy decline, and thus the tendency and dynamics of NP coentry. These efforts provide a system to further understand the synergistic cell entry among individual NPs or multiple NP types on a biophysical basis and shed light on the future design of nanostructures for intracellular delivery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yushuang Wei
- Department of Pharmaceutics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Haibo Chen
- Center for Soft Condensed Matter Physics and Interdisciplinary Research & School of Physical Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China
| | - Yue-Xuan Li
- Department of Pharmaceutics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Kejie He
- Center for Soft Condensed Matter Physics and Interdisciplinary Research & School of Physical Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China
| | - Kai Yang
- Center for Soft Condensed Matter Physics and Interdisciplinary Research & School of Physical Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China
| | - Hong-Bo Pang
- Department of Pharmaceutics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
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3
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Ma W, Jiang X, Dou Y, Zhang Z, Li J, Yuan B, Yang K. Biophysical Impact of Lipid A Modification Caused by Mobile Colistin Resistance Gene on Bacterial Outer Membranes. J Phys Chem Lett 2021; 12:11629-11635. [PMID: 34817187 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.1c03295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Expression of mobile colistin resistance gene mcr-1 results in the addition of phosphoethanolamine (pEtN) to the lipid A headgroup in the bacterial outer membrane (OM) of Gram-negative bacteria, increasing the resistance to the last-line polymyxins. However, the potential biological consequences of such modification remain unclear. Using coarse-grained molecular simulations with quantitative lipidomics models, we discovered pEtN modification of the lipid A headgroup caused substantial changes to the morphology and physicochemical properties of the OM. Single-lipid level structural and energetic analyses revealed that this modification resulted in lipid A-pEtN adopting an abnormally twisted and slanted conformation with a closer packing state because of strengthened inter-lipid attraction. The consequent accumulation of lipid A-pEtN produced a negative curvature of the OM and altered the membrane's tension, fluidity, and rigidity. Our results provide a key mechanistic connection between mcr-1 expression and biophysical changes in the bacterial OM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wendong Ma
- School of Electronic Information, Dongguan Polytechnic, Dongguan, Guangdong 523808, China
- Center for Soft Condensed Matter Physics and Interdisciplinary Research & School of Physical Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215006, China
| | - Xukai Jiang
- National Glycoengineering Research Center, Shandong University, Qingdao, Shandong 266237, China
| | - Yujiang Dou
- School of Electronic Information, Dongguan Polytechnic, Dongguan, Guangdong 523808, China
| | - Zhihong Zhang
- Center for Soft Condensed Matter Physics and Interdisciplinary Research & School of Physical Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215006, China
| | - Jian Li
- Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Infection Program, Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria 3800, Australia
| | - Bing Yuan
- Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, Dongguan, Guangdong 523808, China
| | - Kai Yang
- Center for Soft Condensed Matter Physics and Interdisciplinary Research & School of Physical Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215006, China
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4
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Lin X, Lin X. Designing amphiphilic Janus nanoparticles with tunable lipid raft affinity via molecular dynamics simulation. Biomater Sci 2021; 9:8249-8258. [PMID: 34757373 DOI: 10.1039/d1bm01364e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Due to the differential interactions among lipids and proteins, the plasma membrane can segregate into a series of functional nanoscale membrane domains ("lipid rafts"), which are essential in multiple biological processes such as signaling transduction, protein trafficking and endocytosis. On the other hand, Janus nanoparticles (NPs) have shown great promise in various biomedical applications due to their asymmetric characteristics and can integrate different surface properties and thus synergetic functions. Hence, in this work, we aim to design an amphiphilic Janus NP to target and regulate lipid rafts via tuning its surface ligand amphiphilicity using coarse-grained molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Our μs-scale free coarse-grained MD simulations as well as umbrella sampling free energy calculations indicated that the hydrophobicity of the hydrophobic surface ligands not only determined the lateral membrane partitioning thermodynamics of Janus NPs in phase-separated lipid membranes, but also the difficulty in their insertion into different membrane domains of the lipid membrane. These two factors jointly regulated the lipid raft affinity of Janus NPs. Meanwhile, the hydrophilicity of the hydrophilic surface ligands could affect the insertion ability of Janus NPs. Besides, the ultra-small size could ensure the membrane-bound behavior of Janus NPs without disrupting the overall structure and phase separation kinetics of the lipid membrane. These results may provide valuable insights into the design of functional NPs targeting and controllably regulating lipid rafts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoqian Lin
- Institute of Single Cell Engineering, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Biomechanics and Mechanobiology, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China. .,Shen Yuan Honors College, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Xubo Lin
- Institute of Single Cell Engineering, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Biomechanics and Mechanobiology, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China.
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5
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Palaia I, Paraschiv A, Debets VE, Storm C, Šarić A. Durotaxis of Passive Nanoparticles on Elastic Membranes. ACS NANO 2021; 15:15794-15802. [PMID: 34550677 DOI: 10.1101/2021.04.01.438065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
The transport of macromolecules and nanoscopic particles to a target cellular site is a crucial aspect in many physiological processes. This directional motion is generally controlled via active mechanical and chemical processes. Here we show, by means of molecular dynamics simulations and an analytical theory, that completely passive nanoparticles can exhibit directional motion when embedded in nonuniform mechanical environments. Specifically, we study the motion of a passive nanoparticle adhering to a mechanically nonuniform elastic membrane. We observe a nonmonotonic affinity of the particle to the membrane as a function of the membrane's rigidity, which results in the particle transport. This transport can be both up or down the rigidity gradient, depending on the absolute values of the rigidities that the gradient spans across. We conclude that rigidity gradients can be used to direct average motion of passive macromolecules and nanoparticles on deformable membranes, resulting in the preferential accumulation of the macromolecules in regions of certain mechanical properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Palaia
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Institute for the Physics of Living Systems, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
- MRC Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
| | - Alexandru Paraschiv
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Institute for the Physics of Living Systems, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
- MRC Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
| | - Vincent E Debets
- Department of Applied Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
- Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Cornelis Storm
- Department of Applied Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
- Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Anđela Šarić
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Institute for the Physics of Living Systems, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
- MRC Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
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6
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Palaia I, Paraschiv A, Debets VE, Storm C, Šarić A. Durotaxis of Passive Nanoparticles on Elastic Membranes. ACS NANO 2021; 15:15794-15802. [PMID: 34550677 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.1c02777] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The transport of macromolecules and nanoscopic particles to a target cellular site is a crucial aspect in many physiological processes. This directional motion is generally controlled via active mechanical and chemical processes. Here we show, by means of molecular dynamics simulations and an analytical theory, that completely passive nanoparticles can exhibit directional motion when embedded in nonuniform mechanical environments. Specifically, we study the motion of a passive nanoparticle adhering to a mechanically nonuniform elastic membrane. We observe a nonmonotonic affinity of the particle to the membrane as a function of the membrane's rigidity, which results in the particle transport. This transport can be both up or down the rigidity gradient, depending on the absolute values of the rigidities that the gradient spans across. We conclude that rigidity gradients can be used to direct average motion of passive macromolecules and nanoparticles on deformable membranes, resulting in the preferential accumulation of the macromolecules in regions of certain mechanical properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Palaia
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Institute for the Physics of Living Systems, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
- MRC Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
| | - Alexandru Paraschiv
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Institute for the Physics of Living Systems, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
- MRC Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
| | - Vincent E Debets
- Department of Applied Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
- Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Cornelis Storm
- Department of Applied Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
- Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Anđela Šarić
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Institute for the Physics of Living Systems, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
- MRC Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
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7
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Zhang X, Kang R, Liu Y, Yan Z, Xu Y, Yue T. From reversible to irreversible: When the membrane nanotube pearling is coupled with phase separation. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 2021; 209:112160. [PMID: 34736219 DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2021.112160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2021] [Revised: 09/17/2021] [Accepted: 10/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Membrane nanotubes, which are ubiquitous in biology and act as channels maintaining transport between different cells and organelles, readily undergo pearling in response to external stimuli. Membrane nanotube pearling involves generation of heterogeneous curvature coupled with redistribution of membrane components that may interfere with the shape recovery of pearled nanotubes. However, the mechanism underlying such delicate process remains unclear and difficult to study at the molecular scale in vivo. By means of molecular dynamics simulation, here we investigate pearling of multi-component membrane nanotubes and reversibility through manipulating system temperature and osmotic pressure. With the equilibrium shape of membrane nanotubes controlled by the osmotic pressure, our results demonstrate that the process of membrane nanotube pearling can be reversible or irreversible, depending on the phase segregation state. For the pearled nanotube releasing high surface energy, different lipid components redistribute along the tube axial direction. Lipids with unsaturated tails prefer gathering at the high-curvature shrinking region, whereas the swelling region is constituted by saturated lipids forming the liquid-ordered phase of a higher bending rigidity. Such curvature sensitive phase segregation minimizes the system free energy by reducing both the membrane bending energy and line tension at the phase boundary. As such, the pearled nanotube fails to recover its shape upon retracting stimuli, suggesting irreversibility of the membrane nanotube pearling coupled with phase separation. Given importance of membrane nanotube pearling in various cellular activities, these results provide a new mechanism of controlling equilibrium shapes of membrane nanotubes in complex cellular environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyang Zhang
- College of Chemical Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China
| | - Runshan Kang
- College of Chemical Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China
| | - Yingjie Liu
- Institute of Coastal Environmental Pollution Control, Key Laboratory of Marine Environment and Ecology, Ministry of Education, Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China
| | - Zengshuai Yan
- National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Physics, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
| | - Yan Xu
- College of Electronic Engineering and Automation, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China
| | - Tongtao Yue
- Institute of Coastal Environmental Pollution Control, Key Laboratory of Marine Environment and Ecology, Ministry of Education, Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China; Laboratory for Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266237, China.
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8
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Zhang Z, Ma W, He K, Yuan B, Yang K. Ligand-decoration determines the translational and rotational dynamics of nanoparticles on a lipid bilayer membrane. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2021; 23:9158-9165. [PMID: 33885120 DOI: 10.1039/d1cp00643f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Nanoparticles (NPs) promise a huge potential for clinical diagnostic and therapeutic applications. However, nano-bio (e.g., the NP-cell membrane) interactions and underlying mechanisms are still largely elusive. In this study, two types of congeneric peptides, namely PGLa and magainin 2 (MAG2), with similar membrane activities were employed as model ligands for NP decoration, and the diffusion behaviours (including both translation and rotation) of the ligand-decorated NPs on a lipid bilayer membrane were studied via molecular dynamics simulations. It was found that, although both PGLa- and MAG2-coated NPs showed alternatively "hopping" and "jiggling" diffusions, the PGLa-coated ones had an enhanced circling at the hopping stage, while a much confined circling at the jiggling stage. In contrast, the MAG2-coated NPs demonstrated constant circling tendencies throughout the diffusion process. Such differences in the coupling between translational and rotational dynamics of these two types of NPs are ascribed to the different ligand-lipid interactions of PGLa and MAG2, in which the PGLa ligands prefer to vertically insert into the membrane, while MAG2 tends to lie flat on the membrane surface. Our results are helpful for the understanding the underlying associations between the NP motions and their interfacial membrane interactions, and shed light on the possibility of regulating NP behaviours on a cellular surface for better biomedical uses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhihong Zhang
- Center for Soft Condensed Matter Physics and Interdisciplinary Research & School of Physical Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006, P. R. China.
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Gao HM, Li B, Zhang R, Sun ZY, Lu ZY. Free energy for inclusion of nanoparticles in solvated polymer brushes from molecular dynamics simulations. J Chem Phys 2020; 152:094905. [DOI: 10.1063/5.0002257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Hui-Min Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, Institute of Theoretical Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130023, China
- School of Mathematics, Jilin University, Changchun 130023, China
| | - Bing Li
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, China
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA
| | - Ran Zhang
- School of Mathematics, Jilin University, Changchun 130023, China
| | - Zhao-Yan Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, China
- Xinjiang Laboratory of Phase Transitions and Microstructures in Condensed Matters, College of Physical Science and Technology, Yili Normal University, Yining 835000, China
| | - Zhong-Yuan Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, Institute of Theoretical Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130023, China
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Wang S, Guo H, Li Y, Li X. Penetration of nanoparticles across a lipid bilayer: effects of particle stiffness and surface hydrophobicity. NANOSCALE 2019; 11:4025-4034. [PMID: 30768108 DOI: 10.1039/c8nr09381d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
The cellular uptake of nanoparticles (NPs) has drawn significant attention due to their great importance and potential in drug delivery, bioimaging, and specific targeting. Here, we conduct a computational study on the translocation process of soft nanoparticles with different elasticities and surface hydrophobicities through a lipid bilayer membrane. It is shown that the translocation abilities of hydrophilic NPs can be enhanced by increasing their stiffness, while the penetrability of hydrophobic NPs is weakened by increasing the particle stiffness. The free energy analysis indicates that rigid hydrophilic NPs and soft hydrophobic NPs encounter lower energy barriers during penetration. In direct translocation, different deformation modes are observed for NPs with different surface hydrophobicities during cellular internalization. Further, deformation analysis demonstrates that hydrophilic NPs are flattened in the membrane plane, while hydrophobic NPs are elongated along the membrane norm during penetration. We conclude that the elasticity of NPs has an obvious impact on their ability to penetrate across the lipid bilayer membrane through different morphological responses of hydrophilic and hydrophobic NPs. These results shed light on the coupled effects of particle elasticity and surface hydrophobicity on the cellular uptake of elastic NPs, which may provide useful guidelines for designing effective nanocarrier systems for drug delivery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuo Wang
- Department of Engineering Mechanics, School of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Civil Engineering (State Key Laboratory of Ocean Engineering, MOE Key Laboratory of Hydrodynamics), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China.
| | - Hui Guo
- Department of Urology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai 200233, China
| | - Yinfeng Li
- Department of Engineering Mechanics, School of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Civil Engineering (State Key Laboratory of Ocean Engineering, MOE Key Laboratory of Hydrodynamics), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, P. R. China.
| | - Xuejin Li
- Department of Engineering Mechanics and Key Laboratory of Soft Machines and Smart Devices of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, P. R. China.
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