Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 2, 2026

Using Magnetometry to Monitor Cellular Incorporation and Subsequent Biodegradation of Chemically Synthetized Iron Oxide Nanoparticles
Published on: February 27, 2021
Cellular Uptake and Intracellular Antioxidant Activity of Zein/Chitosan Nanoparticles Incorporated with Quercetin
Juan-Juan Ma1, Yi-Gang Yu1,2, Shou-Wei Yin1,2
1Research and Development Center of Food Proteins, School of Food Science and Engineering , South China University of Technology , Guangzhou 510640 , PR China.
Abstract:
In this work, zein/chitosan nanoparticles (ZCPs-Q) were developed for encapsulating quercetin to overcome its lower water solubility and instability, and to concomitantly enhance its cellular uptake and intracellular antioxidant activity. This strategy enhanced quercetin solubility 753.6 and 9.95 times in water and PBS (7.4), respectively, and quercetin encapsulated in ZCPs remained stable after UV irradiation and heat treatment. ZCPs-Q could significantly attenuate AAPH induced erythrocyte hemolysis through the inhibition of ROS generation. It restored intracellular antioxidant enzyme (SOD and GSH-Px) activities to normal levels and inhibited intracellular malondialdehyde (MDA) formation. Simultaneously, ZCPs-Q showed a strong antioxidant activity in HepG2 cells with an EC50 value of 31.18 μg/mL, which was lower than free quercetin's 41.02 μg/mL. ZCPs enhanced the uptake efficiency of quercetin in Caco-2 cells, which contributed to the improvement of cellular antioxidant activities (CAA) evaluated with the CAA assay and AAPH-induced erythrocyte hemolysis assay. The designed route is particularly suitable for the encapsulation of water-insoluble nutraceuticals and for enhancing cell uptake and CAA.
Related Concept Videos
Intracellular Signaling Cascades
Drugs Affecting Neurotransmitter Release or Uptake
Intracellular Hormone Receptors
Primary Active Transport
Cellular Differentiation
A zygote is a...
Cellular Respiration

