A Numerical Study of Passive Receptor-Mediated Endocytosis of Nanoparticles: The Effect of Mechanical Properties

In this work, a three-dimensional axisymmetric model with nanoparticle, receptor-ligand bonds and cell membrane as a system was used to study the quasi-static receptor-mediated endocytosis process of spherical nanoparticles in drug delivery. The minimization of the system energy function was carried out numerically, and the deformations of nanoparticle, receptor-ligand bonds and cell membrane were predicted. Results show that passive endocytosis may fail due to the rupture of receptor-ligand bonds during the wrapping process, and the size and rigidity of nanoparticles affect the total deformation energy and the terminal wrapping stage. Our results suggest that, in addition to the energy requirement, the success of passive endocytosis also depends on the maximum strength of the receptor-ligand bonds.