Figure 2

Internalization of silica nanoparticles into HUVEC under static and stretch culture conditions. HUVEC were seeded on flexible membranes and grown to confluence under different culture conditions (static or stretch conditions). Afterwards cells were treated with silica nanoparticles (red) under static (A–D) or stretch (E–H) conditions for 24 hours. Cells were washed and afterwards fixed with paraformaldehyde. Cell nuclei were stained with Hoechst dye (blue) and the membrane associated CD31 with the appropriate primary and secondary antibodies (green). Fluorescent microscopy was performed with a DeltaVision-microscope and a with the same exposure times. Scale bar: 15 μm.