Issue 1, 2023

Effects of morphology and size of nanoscale drug carriers on cellular uptake and internalization process: a review

Abstract

In the field of targeted drug delivery, the effects of size and morphology of drug nanocarriers are of great importance and need to be discussed in depth. To be concise, among all the various shapes of nanocarriers, rods and tubes with a narrow cross-section are the most preferred shapes for the penetration of a cell membrane. In this regard, several studies have focused on methods to produce nanorods and nanotubes with controlled optimized size and aspect ratio (AR). Additionally, a non-spherical orientation could affect the cellular uptake process while a tangent angle of less than 45° is better at penetrating the membrane, and Ω = 90° is beneficial. Moreover, these nanocarriers show different behaviors when confronting diverse cells whose fields should be investigated in future studies. In this survey, a comprehensive classification based on carrier shape is first submitted. Then, the most commonly used methods for control over the size and shape of the carriers are reviewed. Finally, influential factors on the cellular uptake and internalization processes and related analytical methods for evaluating this process are discussed.

Graphical abstract: Effects of morphology and size of nanoscale drug carriers on cellular uptake and internalization process: a review

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
31 10 2022
Accepted
25 11 2022
First published
20 12 2022
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

RSC Adv., 2023,13, 80-114

Effects of morphology and size of nanoscale drug carriers on cellular uptake and internalization process: a review

W. Zhang, R. Taheri-Ledari, F. Ganjali, S. S. Mirmohammadi, F. S. Qazi, M. Saeidirad, A. KashtiAray, S. Zarei-Shokat, Y. Tian and A. Maleki, RSC Adv., 2023, 13, 80 DOI: 10.1039/D2RA06888E

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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