title: Rotation-Facilitated Rapid Transport of Nanorods in Mucosal Tissues.
abstract: Mucus is a viscoelastic gel layer that typically protects exposed surfaces of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, lung airways, and other mucosal tissues. Particles targeted to these tissues can be efficiently trapped and removed by mucus, thereby limiting the effectiveness of such drug delivery systems. In this study, we experimentally and theoretically demonstrated that cylindrical nanoparticles (NPs), such as mesoporous silica nanorods and calcium phosphate nanorods, have superior transport and trafficking capability in mucus compared with spheres of the same chemistry. The higher diffusivity of nanorods leads to deeper mucus penetration and a longer retention time in the GI tract than that of their spherical counterparts. Molecular simulations and stimulated emission of depletion (STED) microscopy revealed that this anomalous phenomenon can be attributed to the rotational dynamics of the NPs facilitated by the mucin fibers and the shear flow. These findings shed new light on the shape design of NP-based drug delivery systems targeted to mucosal and tumor sites that possess a fibrous structure/porous medium.
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Shanghai 201203, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , NO.19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Miaorong
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory for Nanosystem and Hierarchy Fabrication, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100190, China.|LNM, Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100190, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , NO.19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Jiuling
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Shanghai 201203, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , NO.19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Yiwei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Shanghai 201203, China.
authors.forename: Chunliu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory for Nanosystem and Hierarchy Fabrication, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100190, China.|LNM, Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100190, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , NO.19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Shanghai 201203, China.
authors.forename: Shiyan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory for Nanosystem and Hierarchy Fabrication, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100190, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , NO.19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Jiashu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Shanghai 201203, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , NO.19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gan
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory for Nanosystem and Hierarchy Fabrication, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100190, China.|LNM, Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100190, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , NO.19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Xinghua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering, Brown University , Providence, Rhode Island 02912, United States.
authors.forename: Huajian
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gao
keywords: Mucus penetration; molecular simulations; nanoparticle diffusion; shape dependent; transmucosal delivery