Nanoparticle morphology (size, shape, and composition) and surface chemistry are the determining factors underpinning the efficacy of such materials in therapeutic applications. The size, shape, and surface chemistry of a nanoparticle can strongly influence key properties such as interactions with diverse biological fluids and interfaces and, in turn, impact the delivery of bioactive cargo, modulating therapeutic performance. This is exemplified in ocular drug delivery, where potential therapeutics must navigate complex biological media such as the gel-like vitreal fluid and the retina. Biodegradable block copolymer amphiphiles are a robust tool for the engineering of various types of self-assembled nanoparticles with diverse morphologies ranging from spherical and tubular polymersomes to spherical and worm-like micelles. Here, we explore the effect of morphological features such as shape and surface chemistry upon the interactions of a series of copolymer nanoparticles with retinal (ARPE-19) cells and the release of a low solubility drug (dexamethasone) that is currently used in ocular therapy and study their diffusion in vitreous using ex vivo eyes. We demonstrate that both aspect ratio and surface chemistry of nanoparticles will influence their performance in terms of cell uptake, drug release, and diffusion with high aspect ratio shapes demonstrating enhanced properties in relation to their spherical counterparts.

中文翻译：

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探索形态对生物可降解纳米粒子的特性及其在复杂生物介质中扩散的影响。

纳米颗粒的形态（大小，形状和组成）和表面化学性质是决定此类材料在治疗应用中功效的决定因素。纳米粒子的大小，形状和表面化学性质可以强烈影响关键特性，例如与各种生物流体和界面的相互作用，进而影响生物活性物质的输送，从而调节治疗性能。这在眼部药物递送中得到了例证，其中潜在的治疗剂必须穿越复杂的生物介质，例如凝胶状玻璃体液和视网膜。可生物降解的嵌段共聚物两亲物是一种强大的工具，可用于工程化各种类型的自组装纳米颗粒，这些纳米颗粒具有从球形和管状聚合物小体到球形和蠕虫状胶束的各种形态。这里，在玻璃体中使用离体眼睛。我们证明，纳米颗粒的长宽比和表面化学性质都将影响其在细胞摄取，药物释放和扩散方面的性能，高长宽比的形状表明其相对于球形对应物的性能增强。