[en] drug delivery ; erythrocyte membrane ; hybrid erythrocyte membranes ; membrane material properties ; red blood cells ; synthetic lipids
[en] The modification of erythrocyte membrane properties provides a new tool towards improved drug delivery and biomedical applications. The fabrication of hybrid erythrocyte liposomes is presented by doping red blood cell membranes with synthetic lipid molecules of different classes (PC, PS, PG) and different degrees of saturation (14:0, 16:0-18:1). The respective solubility limits are determined, and material properties of the hybrid liposomes are studied by a combination of X-ray diffraction, epi-fluorescent microscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), Zeta potential, UV-vis spectroscopy, and Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations. Membrane thickness and lipid orientation can be tuned through the addition of phosphatidylcholine lipids. The hybrid membranes can be fluorescently labelled by incorporating Texas-red DHPE, and their charge modified by incorporating phosphatidylserine and phosphatidylglycerol. By using fluorescein labeled dextran as an example, it is demonstrated that small molecules can be encapsulated into these hybrid liposomes.
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada ; Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI)Canada Foundation for Innovation ; Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation ; Early Researcher Award of the Province of Ontario ; University Scholar of McMaster University ; DFGGerman Research Foundation (DFG) [FOR 2688, WA 1336/12]
This research was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) and the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation. M.C.R. is the recipient of an Early Researcher Award of the Province of Ontario and a University Scholar of McMaster University. C.W. acknowledges support by the DFG FOR 2688, project WA 1336/12. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
[University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Science, Technology and Communication (FSTC) > Physics and Materials Science Research Unit]
