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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2012 Apr 1.
Published in final edited form as: Nanomedicine (Lond). 2011 Jun;6(4):715–728. doi: 10.2217/nnm.11.19

Figure 2. Polyethylene glycol prevents uptake by the reticuloendothelial system.

Figure 2

(A) Nanoparticles (A1) are coated with opsonin proteins (A2) and associate with macrophages (A3) for transit to the liver (A4). Macrophages stationary in the liver, known as Kupffer cells, also participate in nanoparticle scavenging. (B) Nanoparticles coated with PEG coating (B1) prevents this opsonization (B2), resulting in decreased liver accumulation (B3) and increased availability of the NP for imaging or therapy.

NP: Nanoparticle; PEG: Polyethylene glycol.