Impact of Tumor Barriers on Nanoparticle Delivery to Macrophages

Mol Pharm. 2022 Jun 6;19(6):1917-1925. doi: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.1c00905. Epub 2022 Mar 23.

Abstract

The delivery of therapeutic nanoparticles to target cells is critical to their effectiveness. Here we quantified the impact of biological barriers on the delivery of nanoparticles to macrophages in two different tissues. We compared the delivery of gold nanoparticles to macrophages in the liver versus those in the tumor. We found that nanoparticle delivery to macrophages in the tumor was 75% less than to macrophages in the liver due to structural barriers. The tumor-associated macrophages took up more nanoparticles than Kupffer cells in the absence of barriers. Our results highlight the impact of biological barriers on nanoparticle delivery to cellular targets.

Keywords: cancer; delivery; gold; macrophage; nanoparticle; tumor.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Gold
  • Humans
  • Kupffer Cells
  • Macrophages
  • Metal Nanoparticles*
  • Nanoparticles* / therapeutic use
  • Neoplasms* / drug therapy

Substances

  • Gold