Combined mathematical modelling and experimentation to predict polymersome uptake by oral cancer cells

Through a combination of in vitro experimentation, using nanometre sized drug delivery vehicles called polymersomes, and mathematical modelling, we developed a model of nanoparticle uptake by cells via the clathrin-mediated endocytotic pathway. The model predicts how uptake is affected by properties of the nanoparticles and cells. The number of receptors responsible for nanoparticle uptake was identified as being the dominant mechanism accounting for the difference between cell types.193