Volume 55, Issue 52 pp. 16039-16043
Communication

Tailoring Renal Clearance and Tumor Targeting of Ultrasmall Metal Nanoparticles with Particle Density

Dr. Shaoheng Tang

Dr. Shaoheng Tang

Department of Chemistry, The University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W. Campbell Rd., Richardson, TX, 75080 USA

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Chuanqi Peng

Chuanqi Peng

Department of Chemistry, The University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W. Campbell Rd., Richardson, TX, 75080 USA

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Jing Xu

Jing Xu

Department of Chemistry, The University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W. Campbell Rd., Richardson, TX, 75080 USA

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Bujie Du

Bujie Du

Department of Chemistry, The University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W. Campbell Rd., Richardson, TX, 75080 USA

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Qingxiao Wang

Qingxiao Wang

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The University of Texas at Dallas, USA

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Rodrigo D. Vinluan III

Rodrigo D. Vinluan III

Department of Chemistry, The University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W. Campbell Rd., Richardson, TX, 75080 USA

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Dr. Mengxiao Yu

Dr. Mengxiao Yu

Department of Chemistry, The University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W. Campbell Rd., Richardson, TX, 75080 USA

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Prof. Dr. Moon J. Kim

Prof. Dr. Moon J. Kim

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The University of Texas at Dallas, USA

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Prof. Dr. Jie Zheng

Corresponding Author

Prof. Dr. Jie Zheng

Department of Chemistry, The University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W. Campbell Rd., Richardson, TX, 75080 USA

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First published: 24 November 2016
Citations: 100

Graphical Abstract

Density matters: Four different metal nanoparticles with the same size and surface chemistry but different densities were synthesized. It was then shown that the renal clearance of ultrasmall metal nanoparticles decreases exponentially with an increase in particle density while tumor targeting linearly increases.

Abstract

Identifying key factors that govern the in vivo behavior of nanomaterials is critical to the clinical translation of nanomedicines. Overshadowed by size-, shape-, and surface-chemistry effects, the impact of the particle core density on clearance and tumor targeting of inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) remains largely unknown. By utilizing a class of ultrasmall metal NPs with the same size and surface chemistry but different densities, we found that the renal-clearance efficiency exponentially increased in the early elimination phase while passive tumor targeting linearly decreased with a decrease in particle density. Moreover, lower-density NPs are more easily distributed in the body and have shorter retention times in highly permeable organs than higher-density NPs. The density-dependent in vivo behavior of metal NPs likely results from their distinct margination in laminar blood flow, which opens up a new path for precise control of nanomedicines in vivo.

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