Université de Fribourg

An atomistic look into bio-inspired nanoparticles and their molecular interactions with cells

Petretto, Emanuele ; Campomanes, Pablo ; Stellacci, Francesco ; Rothen-Rutishauser, Barbara ; Petri-Fink, Alke ; Vanni, Stefano

In: CHIMIA International Journal for Chemistry, 2019, vol. 73, no. 1, p. 78–80

Nanoparticles (NPs) have sizes that approach those of pathogens and they can interact with the membranes of eukaryotic cells in an analogous fashion. Typically, NPs are taken up by the cell via the plasma membrane by receptor-mediated processes and subsequently interact with various endomembranes. Unlike pathogens, however, NPs lack the remarkable specificity gained during the evolutionary...