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Quantitative mechanics of endothelial phagocytosis of silicon microparticles
Author(s) -
Serda Rita E.,
Gu Jianhua,
Burks Jared K.,
Ferrari Kim,
Ferrari Chiara,
Ferrari Mauro
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
cytometry part a
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.316
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1552-4930
pISSN - 1552-4922
DOI - 10.1002/cyto.a.20769
Subject(s) - phagocytosis , biophysics , chemistry , materials science , nanotechnology , microbiology and biotechnology , biology
Endothelia, once thought of as a barrier to the delivery of therapeutics, is now a major target for tissue‐specific drug delivery. Tissue‐ and disease‐specific molecular presentations on endothelial cells provide targets for anchoring or internalizing delivery vectors. Porous silicon delivery vectors are phagocytosed by vascular endothelial cells. The rapidity and efficiency of silicon microparticle uptake lead us to delineate the kinetics of internalization. To discriminate between surface‐attached and ‐internalized microparticles, we developed a double fluorescent/FRET flow cytometric approach. The approach relies on quenching of antibody‐conjugated fluorescein isothiocyanate covalently attached to the microparticle surface by attachment of a secondary antibody labeled with an acceptor fluorophore, phycoerythrin. The resulting half‐time for microparticle internalization was 15.7 min, with confirmation provided by live confocal imaging as well as transmission electron microscopy. © 2009 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry