Nanoparticles Penetrate into the Multicellular Spheroid-on-Chip: Effect of Surface Charge, Protein Corona, and Exterior Flow

Nanoparticles (NPs) are widely studied as tumor targeted vehicles. The penetration of NPs into the tumor is considered as a major barrier for delivery of NPs into tumor cell and a big challenge to translate NPs from lab to the clinic. The objective of this study is to know how the surface charge of NPs, the protein corona surrounding the NPs, and the fluid flow around the tumor surface affect the penetration and accumulation of NPs into the tumor, through in vitro penetration study based on a spheroid-on-chip system. Surface decorated polystyrene (PS) NPs (100 nm) carrying positive and negative surface charge were loaded to the multicellular spheroids under static and flow conditions, in the presence or absence of serum proteins. NP penetration was investigated by confocal laser microscopy scanning followed with quantitative image analysis. The results reveal that negatively charged NPs are attached more on the spheroid surface and easier to penetrate into the spheroids. Protein corona, which is formed surrounding the NPs in the presence of serum protein, changes the surface properties of the NPs, weakens the NP cell affinity, and, therefore, results in lower NP concentration on the spheroid surface but might facilitate deeper penetration. The exterior fluid flow enhances the interstitial flow into the spheroid, which benefits the penetration but also strips the NPs (especially the NPs with protein corona) on the spheroid surface, which decreases the penetration flux significantly. The maximal penetration was obtained by applying negatively charged NPs without protein corona under the flow condition. We hope the present study-will help to understand the spatiotemporal performance of drug delivery NPs and inform the rational design of NPs with highly defined drug accumulation localized at a target site.