Premium
Liposomes with detachable polymer coating: destabilization and fusion of dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine vesicles triggered by cleavage of surface‐grafted poly(ethylene glycol)
Author(s) -
Kirpotin Dmitri,
Hong Keelung,
Mullah Nasreen,
Papahadjopoulos Demetrios,
Zalipsky Samuel
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/0014-5793(96)00521-2
Subject(s) - liposome , ethylene glycol , peg ratio , conjugate , polymer , chemistry , cleavage (geology) , vesicle , phospholipid , polymer chemistry , chromatography , membrane , materials science , organic chemistry , biochemistry , mathematical analysis , mathematics , finance , fracture (geology) , economics , composite material
Plasma‐stable liposomes (100 nm) were prepared from dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE) and 3–6 mol% of a new disulfide‐linked poly(ethylene glycol)‐phospholipid conjugate (mPEG‐DTP‐DSPE). In contrast to similar preparations containing non‐cleavable PEG‐phospholipid conjugate, thiolytic cleavage of the grafted polymer chains facilitated rapid and complete release of the liposome contents. Furthermore, the detachment of PEG from DOPE liposomes resulted in liposomal fusion. Finally, while formulation of pH‐sensitive DOPE/cholesterol hemisuccinate liposomes with mPEG‐DTP‐DSPE abolished the pH sensitivity, cleavage of the PEG chains completely restored this property. These are the first examples of new useful properties of liposomes grafted with cleavable polymer.