Phagocytosis and degradation of human serum albumin microspheres and nanoparticles in human macrophages.

Nanoparticles and microspheres made from human serum albumin are biodegradable and, as a physiological material, less cytocidal than cyanoacrylates. Therefore, they should be a suitable carrier system for targeting drugs into cells of the mononuclear phagocyte system. Nevertheless, the process of phagocytic uptake and degradation of albumin particles by macrophages has so far not been documented in detail. For this reason the presented electron microscopical investigation was performed. To study both cellular particle uptake and intracellular degradation, human monocytes were isolated from the peripheral blood of healthy donors and cultivated in plastic plates. After maturation to macrophages, the cells were incubated with the particles for 2h, then washed with buffer and further cultivated for 1-7 days. After fixing with glutaraldehyde, the cells were prepared for electron microscopy. The process of incorporation was demonstrated to be phagocytosis, by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The degradation of the microspheres was followed by transmission electron microscopy. The metabolism started some hours after particle uptake. After 3 days the process was almost terminated. After 7 days of cultivation only small numbers of intact microspheres were found in the cytoplasm.