Insulin-based regulation of glucose-functionalized nanoparticle uptake in muscle cells

Abstract

Effective regulation of nanoparticle (NP) uptake facilitates the NP-based therapeutics and diagnostics. Here, we report the use of insulin and 2-deoxyglucose (2-DG) to modulate the cellular uptake of glucose-functionalized quantum dots (Glc-QDs) in C2C12 muscle cells. The cellular uptake of Glc-QDs can be modulated up to almost two-fold under insulin stimulation while be down-regulated in the presence of 2-DG. These results demonstrate the use of secondary regulators to control the cellular uptake of NPs through membrane protein recognition in a specific and fine-tunable fashion.