Abstract
In order to contribute to a better knowledge of the events involved in the formation of the protein corona when nanoparticles (NPs) come in contact with proteins, we report a study about the changes on the physicochemical properties of pristine, PEGylated and Cyclic Arginine-Glycine-Aspartate peptide (RGD)-functionalized large unilamelar liposomes (LUVs) or magnetoliposomes (MLs) upon incubation with Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA). The main phospholipid component of both LUVs and MLs was l-α-phosphatydylcholine (PC) or 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC) with 20% of cholesterol. The most obvious indication of the interaction of BSA-nanosystems is given by changes in the hydrodynamic diameter of the particles but other evidence is needed to corroborate the process. Our findings indicate that size modification is a process that is accomplished in few hours and that is strongly dependent not only on the surface decoration but also of the lipid composition of both LUVs and MLs. Fluorescence quenching experiments as well as cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (Cryo-TEM) images assessed these changes and confirmed that although each system has to be studied in a particular way, we can establish three distinctive features that turn into more reactive systems: (a) compositions containing PC compared with their DMPC counterparts; (b) the presence of PEG and/or RGD compared to the pristine counterparts; and (c) the presence of SPIONs: MLs show higher interaction than LUVs of the same lipid composition. Consequently, PEGylation (that is supposed to make stealth NPs) actually fails in preventing complete protein binding.
Highlights
Liposomes are among the first colloidal soft particles described and could be considered one of the pioneers of the current nanoparticle family
Considering the aforementioned, and due to the insufficient knowledge about the interaction of liposomes with the biological environment—which make difficult any prediction of the biological outcomes—we present a study of the behavior of Large Unilamellar Vesicles (LUVs) and hybrid LUVs containing superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs), named magnetoliposomes (MLs), in presence of bovine serum albumin (BSA)
/or RGD compared to the pristine counterparts and; (c) the presence of SPIONs: MLs show higher interaction than LUVs of the same lipid composition
Summary
Liposomes are among the first colloidal soft particles described and could be considered one of the pioneers of the current nanoparticle family. Nanomaterials 2017, 7, 37 upon liposome administration in vivo which is their rapid recognition and uptake by cells of the mononuclear phagocyte system leading to their quick removal and reduced half life time in the blood stream. This problem was partially overcome by the decoration of the outer leaflet of the bilayer with anti-opsonization agents mostly polymers, especially polyethylene glycol (PEG) generating the commonly known as stealth liposomes [10,11,12].
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