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. 2019 Apr;71(2):157–169. doi: 10.1124/pr.118.016816

Fig. 1.

Fig. 1.

Transport of NP from the injection site to the target site. After an intravenous injection, NP are distributed in blood and undergo the following processes: 1) interaction with proteins in blood to form NP-PC, 2) removal by phagocytic/RES entrapment or elimination by metabolism and excretion, 3) transport to organs and tissues via blood circulation, 4) extravasation into the tissue interstitium via transvascular diffusion or convection, 5) interaction with ECM components, 6) transport by interstitial diffusion and convection to reach individual cells, 7) interaction with cells (binding, internalization, efflux), and 8) intracellular trafficking and interaction with endocytic organelles. The drawing of NP, ECM components, and subcellular organelles is not to scale. Note that the proteins on the PC formed in blood may exchange with proteins in ECM (not depicted in the figure). See the text for more details on individual processes. API, active pharmaceutical ingredient; ER, endoplasmic reticulum; ERC, endocytic recycling compartment; ESCRT, endosomal sorting complexes required for transport; ILV, intraluminal vesicle; LYSO, lysosome; MVB, multivesicular body; TGN, trans-Golgi network. This figure is adapted from Li et al. (2012) and reprinted with permission.