Abstract
RIPL peptide-conjugated liposomes (PEG-RIPL-Ls) were sterically stabilized with polyethylene glycol (PEG) to prevent recognition by the mononuclear phagocytic system (MPS) and prolong their systemic circulation in vivo. PEG-modified maleimide-derivatized liposomes were prepared by a thin-film hydration method and RIPL peptide was conjugated via a thiol-maleimide reaction. To optimize the system, different chain lengths of PEG were used to prepare PEG-RIPL-L. PEG-RIPL-Ls were positively charged nanodispersions and docetaxel (DTX) was successfully encapsulated by pre-loading with an encapsulation efficiency and drug loading capacity of 31–35% and 15–20 μg/mg, respectively. DTX release showed a biphasic pattern, with rapid release in the initial period of 6 h, followed by sustained release for up to 72 h. Additionally, 5 mol% PEG3000-grafted RIPL-L (PEG3K-RIPL-L) showed enhanced anti-adsorption compared to 5 mol% PEG2000-grafted RIPL-L (PEG2K-RIPL-L). Confocal microscopy and flow cytometry using a fluorescence probe (FITC-dextran) demonstrated the greatest stealth effect of PEG3K-RIPL-L. Further analysis of cellular uptake showed that PEG3K-RIPL-L maintained target-selective intracellular delivery capacity. Cytotoxicity analysis demonstrated that PEG3K-RIPL-L had a 1.8-fold lower IC50 value than DTX-Sol. Steric stabilization of RIPL-L was successfully achieved by surface modification with PEG3K, and thus PEG3K-RIPL-L shows potential as a nanocarrier for targeted drug delivery in blood circulation.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allen TM (1997) Liposomes: opportunities in drug delivery. Drugs 54:8–14
Blunk T, Hochstrasser DF, Sanchez JC, Müller BW, Müller RH (1993) Colloidal carriers for intravenous drug targeting: plasma protein adsorption patterns on surface-modified latex particles evaluated by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Electrophoresis 14:1382–1387
Bozzuto G, Molinari A (2015) Liposomes as nanomedical devices. Int J Nanomed 10:975–999
Essa S, Rabanel JM, Hildgen P (2011) Characterization of rhodamine loaded PEG-g-PLA nanoparticles (NPs): effect of poly(ethylene glycol) grafting density. Int J Pharm 411:178–187
Fanciullino R, Ciccolini J (2009) Liposome-encapsulated anticancer drugs: still waiting for the magic bullet? Curr Med Chem 16:4361–4373
Gabizon A, Papahadjopoulos D (1988) Liposome formulations with prolonged circulation time in blood and enhanced uptake by tumors. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 85:6949–6953
Gullotti E, Yeo Y (2009) Extracellularly activated nanocarriers: a new paradigm of tumor targeted drug delivery. Mol Pharm 6:1041–1051
Hitzman CJ, Elmquist WF, Wattenberg LW, Wiedmann TS (2006) Development of a respirable, sustained release microcarrier for 5-fluorouracil I: in vitro assessment of liposomes, microspheres, and lipid coated nanoparticles. J Pharm Sci 95:1114–1126
HORIBA Instruments, Inc (2009) Applications Note; zeta potential of bovine serum albumin (BSA) PROTEIN. http://www.horiba.com/fileadmin/uploads/Scientific/Documents/PSA/AN184_app.pdf. Accessed 14 Dec 2017
Kah JCY, Wong KY, Neoh KG, Song JH, Fu JWP, Mhaisalkar S, Sheppard CJR (2009) Critical parameters in the pegylation of gold nanoshells for biomedical applications: an in vitro macrophage study. J Drug Target 17:181–193
Kang MJ, Park SH, Kang MH, Park MJ, Choi YW (2013) Folic acid-tethered Pep-1 peptide-conjugated liposomal nanocarrier for enhanced intracellular drug delivery to cancer cells: conformational characterization and in vitro cellular uptake evaluation. Int J Nanomed 8:1155–1165
Kang MH, Park MJ, Yoo HJ, Kwon YH, Lee SG, Kim SR, Yeom DW, Kang MJ, Choi YW (2014) RIPL peptide (IPLVVPLRRRRRRRRC)-conjugated liposomes for enhanced intracellular drug delivery to hepsin-expressing cancer cells. Eur J Pharm Biopharm 87:489–499
Kilbanov AL, Maruyama K, Torchilin VP, Huang L (1990) Amphipathic polyethylene glycols effectively prolong the circulation time of liposomes. FEBS Lett 268:235–237
Kim CH, Lee SG, Kang MJ, Lee S, Choi YW (2017) Surface modification of lipid-based nanocarriers for cancer cell-specific drug targeting. J Pharm Invest 47:203–227
Kolate A, Baradia D, Patil S, Vhora I, Kore G, Misra A (2014) PEG—a versatile conjugating ligand for drugs and drug delivery systems. J Control Release 192:67–81
Koren E, Apte A, Jani A, Torchilin VP (2012) Multifunctional PEGylated 2C5-immunoliposomes containing pH-sensitive bonds and TAT peptide for enhanced tumor cell internalization and cytotoxicity. J Control Release 160:264–273
Kwon YH, Shin TH, Jang MH, Yoon HY, Kang MH, Kang MJ, Choi YW (2017) Surface-modification of RIPL peptide-conjugated liposomes to achieve steric stabilization and pH sensitivity. J Nanosci Nanotechnol 17:1008–1017
Mei L, Fu L, Shi K, Zhang Q, Liu Y, Tang J, Gao H, Zhang Z, He Q (2014) Increased tumor targeted delivery using a multistage liposome system functionalized with RGD, TAT and cleavable PEG. Int J Pharm 468:26–38
Noble GT, Stefanick JF, Ashley JD, Kiziltepe T, Bilgicer B (2014) Ligand-targeted liposome design: challenges and fundamental considerations. Trends Biotech 32:32–45
Paliwal SR, Paliwal R, Agrawal GP, Vyas SP (2011) Liposomal nanomedicine for breast cancer therapy. Nanomedicine 6:1085–1100
Singh RP, Sharma G, Kumari L, Koch B, Singh S, Bharti S, Muthu MS (2016) RGD-TPGS decorated theranostic liposomes for brain targeted delivery. Colloid Surf B Biointerfaces 147:129–141
Torchilin VP (2012) Multifunctional nanocarriers. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 64:302–315
Vertut-Doï A, Ishiwata H, Miyajima K (1996) Binding and uptake of liposomes containing a poly(ethylene glycol) derivative of cholesterol (stealth liposomes) by the macrophage cell line J774: influence of PEG content and its molecular weight. Biochim Biophys Acta 1278:19–28
Yamauchi M, Tsutsumi K, Abe M, Uosaki Y, Nakakura M, Aoki N (2007) Release of drugs from liposomes varies with particle size. Biol Pharm Bull 30:963–966
Ye P, Zhang W, Tan Yang YL, Lu M, Gai Y, Ma X, Xiang G (2014) Folate receptor-targeted liposomes enhanced the antitumor potency of imatinib through the combination of active targeting and molecular targeting. Int J Nanomed 9:2167–2176
Yoon HY, Kwak SS, Jang MH, Kang MH, Sung SW, Kim CH, Kim SR, Yeom DW, Kang MJ, Choi YW (2017) Docetaxel-loaded RIPL peptide (IPLVVPLRRRRRRRRC)-conjugated liposomes: drug release, cytotoxicity, and antitumor efficacy. Int J Pharm 523(1):229–237
Zalipsky S (1995) Chemistry of polyethylene glycol conjugates with biologically activemolecules. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 16:157–182
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) Grant funded by the Korea government (MSIP) (No. 2016R1A2B4011449).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
All authors (Moon Ho Jang, Chang Hyun Kim, Ho Yub Yoon, Si Woo Sung, Min Su Goh, Eun Seok Lee, Dong Jun Shin, and Young Wook Choi) declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jang, M.H., Kim, C.H., Yoon, H.Y. et al. Steric stabilization of RIPL peptide-conjugated liposomes and in vitro assessment. J. Pharm. Investig. 49, 115–125 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40005-018-0392-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40005-018-0392-6