Free Energy for Adhesion of Nanocarriers to Endothelial Cells

Targeted drug delivery of functionalized nanocarriers (NCs) is a very critical technique in therapeutic and diagnosis treatments. However design of NCs for targeting to endothelial cells is still a biomedical and pharmacological challenge. Using dissipative particle dynamics simulations, herein we suggest a feasible method for accounting for the majority of parameters that control the adhesion process, including the impact of endothelial glycocalyx (EG) layer, namely its height and structure if both EG chains and receptors. In this presentation, the effects of NCs geometry (size, shape and orientation) and surface chemistry (ligand density, composition and flexibility) on their interactions with solvent, substrate, receptors and chains of the EG layer are investigated. Through studying the morphology and dynamics, the relation of EG layer expansion and movement of NCs inside the EG layer toward the receptor is investigated. To understand this adhesion process, the variation of inclusion free energy of NCs is explored.