Nanoparticle agglomeration restricts uptake into living cells

摘要

Size matters when it comes to nanoparticles entering lung cells.New research published in this issue of ES&T(pp 9370-9376)shows that the finer the particles,the faster they agglomerate in biological fluids,such as the lung's airway surface liquid.This aggregation alters the motility of the nanoparticles,with the smaller ones-which are considered the most toxic-diffusing the most slowly.The overall result is lower accumulation in cells.These results suggest that the smallest particles might be less dangerous than previously thought,because their uptake can be reduced for purely physical reasons.