Fig. 3

Cellular accumulation of GNP-drug complex (GNP-RGD-BLM) and the effectiveness of GNP-mediated drug delivery compared to the treatment with free drug (BLM). a Comparison of the cellular accumulation of GNP-RGD compared to GNP-RGD-BLMs. b Hyperspectral image of cells internalized with GNP-RGD-BLMs. The scale bar is 10 µm. The bright dot-like structures are GNPs localized in cells. c Comparison of cell survival fractions for free BLM and GNP-RGD-BLMs. NR stands for “non-radiated”. *Represents statistically significant difference (unpaired t-test, p < 0.05). d Variation of cell survival fractions for cells treated with free BLM. Free drug concentrations are presented as a ratio of the free drug and the one used for conjugation with GNPs (633 nM). Data are mean ± SEM for n = 3