Light-triggered liposomal cargo delivery platform incorporating photosensitizers and gold nanoparticles for enhanced singlet oxygen generation and increased cytotoxicity.
We developed light-triggered liposomes incorporating 3-5 nm hydrophobic gold nanoparticles and Rose Bengal (RB), a well-known photosensitizer used for photodynamic therapy. Singlet oxygen generated by these liposomes with 532 nm light illumination was characterized for varying the molar ratio of lipids and gold nanoparticles while keeping the amount of RB constant. Gold nanoparticles were found to enhance the singlet oxygen generation rate, with a maximum enhancement factor of 1.75 obtained for the molar ratio of hydrogenated soy l-α-phosphatidylcholine:1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-(hexanoylamine):gold of 57:5:17 compared with liposomes loaded with RB alone. The experimental results could be explained by the local electric field enhancement caused by gold nanoparticles. We further assessed cellular cytotoxicity of gold-loaded liposomes by encapsulating an antitumor drug, doxorubicin (Dox); such Dox-loaded liposomes were applied to human colorectal cancer cells (HCT116) and exposed to light. Gold-loaded liposomes containing RB and Dox where Dox release was triggered by light were found to exhibit higher cytotoxicity compared with the liposomes loaded with RB and Dox alone. Our results indicate that gold-loaded liposomes incorporating photosensitizers may serve as improved agents in photodynamic therapy and chemotherapy.
['Kautzka|Zofia|Z|', 'Clement|Sandhya|S|', 'Goldys|Ewa M|EM|', 'Deng|Wei|W|']
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents D004317:Doxorubicin D016503:Drug Delivery Systems D006046:Gold D045325:HCT116 Cells D006801:Humans D008027:Light D008055:Lipids D008081:Liposomes D053758:Nanoparticles D010713:Phosphatidylcholines D010714:Phosphatidylethanolamines D010778:Photochemotherapy D017319:Photosensitizing Agents D012395:Rose Bengal D026082:Singlet Oxygen
liposomes gold nanoparticles singlet oxygen generation Rose Bengal photodynamic therapy