Random uptake of nanoparticles by cells and negative binomial distributions of pits

This paper focuses on a key experimental observation concerning the random internalization of nanoparticles by cells: the occurrence of over-dispersion in nanoparticle uptake which can be characterized by a negative binomial distribution. We compare the well-known distribution with the empirical distribution of pits on the surface of an alveolar macrophage. We find that a negative binomial distribution provides the accurate curve-fit model for the observed pit distribution.