Nanogels (NG) hold great promise as a drug delivery platform. In this work, we examine the potential of lysozyme-dextran nanogels (LDNG) as drug carriers in vitro using two cell lines: a model target tissue, human umbilical cord vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and a model of the mononuclear phagocyte system (phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)-stimulated THP-1 cells). The LDNG (∼100 nm) were prepared with rhodamine-label dextran (LRDNG) via Maillard reaction followed by heat-gelation reaction and were loaded with a fluorescent probe, 5-hexadecanoylaminofluorescein (HAF), as a mock drug. Epifluorescence microscopy confirmed rapid uptake of LRDNG by HUVEC. Although LysoTracker Green staining indicated a lysosomal fate for LRDNG, the mock drug cargo (HAF) diffused extensively inside the cell within 15 min. Flow cytometry and confocal microscopy indicated slow uptake of LRDNG in PMA-stimulated THP-1 cells, with only 41% of cells containing LRDNG after 24 h exposure. Finally, 24 h exposure to LRDNG did not affect the viability of either cell type at the dose studied (20 μg/ml). At a higher dose (200 μg/ml), LRDNG resulted in a marked loss of viability of HUVEC and THP-1, measuring 30% and 38%, respectively. Collectively, our results demonstrate the great potential of LRDNG as a drug delivery platform, combining simple production, rapid uptake and cargo release in target cells with "stealth" properties and low cytotoxicity.
Keywords: HUVEC; THP-1; dextran; drug delivery; lysozyme; nanogel.