Imaging of Nanomaterial-Induced Endothelial Cell Changes Using Nanomechanical Atomic Force Microscopy

In this presentation, we will introduce how engineered nanoparticles can be used to mediate the endothelial barrier permeability and the use of nanomechanical atomic force microscopy (AFM) to image live, single endothelial cells. In the first part of presentation, we will present a simple but powerful nanoparticle system (i.e., N-cadherin targeted melanin nanoparticles) to convert cytokine-activated, mesenchymal-like endothelial cells back to their original endothelial phenotype. This allows the impaired endothelial barriers to recover their quiescence and intactness, with significantly reduced leukocyte and cancer cell adhesion and transmigration, which could potentially stop atheromatous plaque formation and cancer metastasis in the early stages. In the second part of presentation, we will present a unique nanoparticle-based approach, using MUC18-targeted gold nanorods coupled with mild hyperthermia, to specifically enhance tumor endothelial permeability. This improves the efficacy of traditional cancer therapy including photothermal therapy and anticancer drug delivery by increasing the transport of photo-absorbers and drugs across the tumor endothelium. In both cases, nanomechanical AFM offers quantitative characterization of endothelial cells upon different treatments, which guides the design of nanoparticles for precise endothelial cell manipulation.