  Due to the potential applications in biomedical engineering, it becomes more
and more important to understand the process of engulfment and internalization
of nanoparticles (NPs) by cell membranes. Despite the fact that the interaction
between cell membranes and passive particles has been widely studied, the
interaction between cell membranes and self-propelled nonspherical NPs remains
to be elucidated. Here we present a theoretical model to systematically
investigate the influence of the active force, aspect ratio of NPs, particle
size and membrane properties (adhesion energy density and membrane tension) on
the cellular uptake of a nonspherical nanoparticle. It is found that the active
force generated by an NP can trigger a type of first-order wrapping transition
from a small partial wrapping state to a large one. In addition, the phase
diagram in the force-aspect ratio (particle size, adhesion energy density and
membrane tension) space displays more complex behaviors compared with that for
the passive wrapping mediated merely by adhesion. These results may provide a
useful guidance to the study of activity-driven cellular entry of active
particles into cells.
