Synthesis and in vitro evaluation of a multifunctional and surface-switchable nanoemulsion platform.

We present a multifunctional nanoparticle platform that has targeting moieties shielded by a matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP2) cleavable PEG coating. Upon incubation with MMP2 this surface-switchable coating is removed and the targeting ligands become available for binding. The concept was evaluated in vitro using biotin and αvβ3-integrin-specific RGD-peptide functionalized nanoparticles.