Figure 9.

(A) A spherical-shaped nanoparticle with a low-density ligand pattern most likely to encounter clathrin pit for endocytosis. The clathrin-coated pit is deeply invaginated and pinched off from the plasma membrane to form a clathrin-coated vesicle following endocytosis. (B) A spherical-shaped nanoparticle with a high-density ligand pattern most likely enters the cell through caveolae-mediated endocytosis. The caveolae, a flask-shaped vesicle at the plasma membrane, is internalized and fused to form caveosomes. Adapted with permission from reference [326].