ABSTRACT
Several mechanisms have been proposed to account for the cellular uptake of nanoparticles, including phagocytosis, macropinocytosis, caveolar-mediated endocytosis, and clathrin-mediated endocytosis. The exact pathway of uptake is driven by the size of the nanomaterial and the type, and extent of, interaction with the target cell surface. The noninvasive nature of the processes involved created a highly attractive alternative to conventional delivery methods such as heat shock or electroporation by minimizing the complexity and risk of these earlier techniques.
