Preservation of dendritic cell function upon labeling with amino functionalized polymeric nanoparticles.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are key players in eliciting immunity against antigens, therefore making them the focus of many investigations on immune responses in infections, cancer and autoimmune diseases. Nanosized materials have just recently been investigated for their use as carriers of antigens and as labeling agents for DCs. For this later use nanoparticles should be non-toxic and should most importantly not alter the physiological functions of DCs. Here we demonstrate that by the use of polymeric fluorescent nanoparticles as synthesized by the miniemulsion process immature DCs (iDCs) can be efficiently labeled intracellularly. Amino functionalized nanoparticles are more effective than carb…