Figure 4.

Removal of the avidin cap from MSNs is PDAC-specific and induces cell death. (A) Falcon Software-analyzed flow cytometry data showing the MSN distributions of representative samples (n = 3) after capping with FITC-avidin and subsequent treatment with DMEM or PANC-1-derived conditioned medium; x-axis, FITC (MESH); y-axis, side scattering cross section (nm²). (B) Visualization of percentage of MSNs that are FITC-positive, derived from population plots shown in Figure 4A (n = 3, n = 2 for uncapped MSNs). ** = p < 0.01 as determined by the paired t-test. (C) Cytotoxicity of avidin-capped, empty and paclitaxel-loaded MSNs on PANC-1 cells after 72 h treatment in vitro. Data are shown as the mean of two experiments with n = 6. (D) IC50 curves of free paclitaxel on PANC-1 and THP-1 cells after 72 h treatment. (E) Cytotoxicity of capped and uncapped paclitaxel-loaded MSNs on PANC-1 and THP-1 cells after 72 h of treatment. Data are shown as the mean of one experiment with n = 6. All results are normalized to untreated controls.