Templation, cellular uptake, biological fate and toxicity of surface engineered poly(lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes

Resumo

The objective of this work is to study the intracellular behaviour such as uptake, fate and toxicity, of surface modified poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticJes (NPs) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). PLGA Ps are widely used as carriers for drug, gene and vaccine delivery, because of their biodegradability biocompatibility, low cytotoxicity and easy preparation. The fabrication and optimization of those Ps is of fundamental importance in the nanomedicine field. Polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) fabricated by Layer by Layer (LbL) assembly are a powerful technique for non covalent surface modifications. Depending on the chemical composition of the PEM is possible to attach covalently other molecules (specific recognition functions) without affecting NP stability. In the other hand, several applications of C Ts as supportive substrates for tissue engineering and as carries for in vitro drug delivery have be en demonstrated. evertheless, the use of C Ts in drug delivery research requires a deeper understanding of their toxicological end points. Noncovalent surface modification of CNTs with biopolymers, proteins, specific peptides, O A sequences and monolayers of amphiphilic molecules are used to improve C Ts biocompatibility. It is interesting to know to what extent the toxicity , in vitro ' of the CNTs will depend on their surface modification.