%	percentage
µg	microgram
µl	microliter
µM	micromolar
A549	human lung epithelial cancer cell line
As	arsenic
ATO	arsenic trioxide
C	centigrade
Chol	cholesterol
CLSM	confocal laser scanning microscopy
Da	dalton
DAPI	4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole
DiI	1,1′-dioctadecyl-3,3,3′,3′-tetramethylindocarbocyanine-5,5′-disulfonic acid
DLS	dynamic light scattering
DMSO	dimethyl sulfoxide
DNA	deoxyribonucleic acid
DSPE-PEG2000	methoxypolyethyleneglycol-distearoyl-phosphatidylethanolamine with mPEG MW 2000 Da
DSPE-PEG2000-Folate	1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-folate(polyethylene glycol)-2000 with mPEG MW2000 Da
DSPE-PEG5000-Folate	1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-folate(polyethylene glycol)-5000 with mPEG MW5000 Da
EPR	enhanced permeability and retention effect
FA	folic acid
FACS	fluorescence activated cell sorting
FBS	fetal bovine serum
FITC	fluorescein isothiocyanate
fg	femtogram
FR	folate receptor
Ga	gallium
h	hour(s)
HeLa	human cervical epithelial cells of adenocarcinoma
HPV	human papilloma virus
HT-3	human cervical cancer cell line (HPV-negative)
ICP-MS	inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer
ICP-OES	inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometer
KB	human nasopharyngeal cell line contaminated with HeLa cells
kDa	kilodalton
Lipo	liposome
mAb	monoclonal antibody
min	minute(s)
mM	millimolar
mol	molarity
MPS	mononuclear phagocytic system
MTT	3-(4,5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide
NaH2PO4	sodium dihydrogen phosphate
Na2HPO4	disodium hydrogen phosphate
Ni	nickle
Ni(OAc)2	nickle acetate
nm	nanometre
P	phospholipids
PBS	phosphate buffered saline
PC	phosphatidyl choline
PEG	polyethylene glycol
PMT	photomultiplier tube
SD	standard deviation
UK	United Kingdom
USA	United States of America
v/v	volume by volume