A systematic in vitro investigation on poly-arginine modified nanostructured lipid carrier: Pharmaceutical characteristics, cellular uptake, mechanisms and cytotoxicity

The aim of the present study was to develop a poly-arginine modified nanostructured lipid carrier (R-NLC) by fusion-emulsification method and to test its pharmaceutical characteristics. The influence of R-NLC on A549 cells like cellular uptake and cytotoxicity was also appraised using unmodified NLC as the controlled group. As the results revealed, R-NLC had an average diameter of about 40 nm and a positive zeta potential of about +17 mv, the entrapment efficiency decreased apparently, and no significant difference on the in vitro drug release was found after R8-modification. The cellular uptake and cytotoxicity increased obviously compared with unmodified NLC. The cellular uptake mechanisms of R-NLC involved energy, macropinocytosis, clathrin-mediated endocytosis, and caveolin-mediated endocytosis. The outcomes of the present study strongly support the theory that cell penetrating peptides have the ability of enhancing the cellular uptake of nanocarriers.