The lysosomal escape of nanoparticles is crucial to enhancing their delivery and therapeutic efficiency. Here, we report the cellular uptake mechanism, lysosomal escape, and organelle morphology effect of
monomethoxy (polyethylene glycol)-poly (D,L-lactide-co-glycolide)-poly (L-lysine) (
mPEG-PLGA-PLL, PEAL) and 4-O-beta-D-Galactopyranosyl-D-gluconic
acid (Gal)-modified PEAL (PEAL-Gal) for intracellular delivery to HepG2, Huh7, and PLC
hepatoma cells. These results indicate that PEAL is taken up by
clathrin-mediated endocytosis of HepG2, Huh7 and PLC cells. For PEAL-Gal,
sialic acid receptor-mediated endocytosis and
clathrin-mediated endocytosis are the primary uptake pathways in HepG2 cells, respectively, whereas PEAL-Gal is internalized by sag vesicle- and
clathrin-mediated endocytosis in Huh7 cells. In the case of PLC cells,
clathrin-mediated endocytosis and
sialic acid receptor play a primary role in the uptake of PEAL-Gal. TEM results verify that PEAL and PEAL-Gal lead to a different influence on organelle morphology of HepG2, Huh7 and PLC cells. In addition, the results of intracellular distribution reveal that PEAL and PEAL-Gal are less entrapped in the lysosomes of HepG2 and Huh7 cells, demonstrating that they effectively escape from lysosomes and contribute to enhance the efficiency of intracellular delivery and
tumor therapy. In vivo
tumor targeting image results demonstrate that PEAL-Gal specifically delivers
Rhodamine B (Rb) to the
tumor tissue of mice with HepG2, Huh7, and PLC
hepatomas and remains at a high concentration in
tumor tissue until 48 h, properties that will greatly contribute to enhanced antitumor efficiency.