Fig. 3

Interaction of PGA-PEG NCs with lung cancer cells in a 3D model of a metastatic lymph node. Scaffolds were perfused with DiD-loaded PGA-PEG NCs (green channel). a, b Confocal microscopy z-stacks with a different number of lymphocytes (red channel) showing accumulation of the fluorescent nanocapsules in cells that were negative for the DiI staining (lymphocytes, red channel). Cell nuclei of cancer cells and lymphocytes were counterstained with DAPI (blue channel). c Graphical representation of the uptake of DiD-loaded PGA-PEG NCs after perfusion in the 3D co-culture and incubation in 2D co-cultures monolayers, determined by FACS. Populations were gated separately to determine the percentage (%) of cancer cells (A549) and lymphocytes (Jurkat) that were positive for DiD (DiD-loaded PGA-PEG NCs). Bars represent the mean ± SD (n = 3). NCs nanocapsules