The research program on concerted studies on the uptake of
intentionally-made nanoparticles of variable size, shape, and
surface functionalization is further developed. Fluorescence,
magnetic, and radioactive probes are used for labeling the
nanoparticles. This serves for probing the uptake routes into
cells, skin, and the entire organism. The particles are
custom-made by colloidal chemistry and their properties are
characterized by standard and non-standard single-particle
approaches. The particle interface is of specific interest, where
changes in surface properties induced by uptake into biological
media is systematically investigated in a collaborative and
interdisciplinary effort involving research groups from physical
chemistry, dermatology, tumor research, and laboratory animal
sciences. Specifically, endocytosis into single cells is studied
by cell biological and biochemical approaches. The penetration of
nanoparticles through skin is studied as well as the accumulation
into tumor cells. The particles are selectively detected via
various spectromicroscopy approaches including X-ray microscopy,
microautoradiography, as well as fluorescence and Raman
microscopy. Joint research efforts aim to contribute significantly
to the understanding of the mechanisms of nanoparticle uptake into
living organisms, where cellular model systems, skin, tumor cells,
and particle distributions in organisms are investigated.
