Liposomes containing magnetic nanoparticles (magnetoliposomes) have been extensively explored for targeted drug delivery. However, the magnetic effect of nanoparticles movement as well as the influence of nanoparticle positioning inside the host lipid vesicles, on the final drug delivery, has not been fully elucidated at the nanoscale level. This project aims at optimizing the interaction between the external magnetic field and the liposome carrier, modifying the nanoparticles properties and positioning as well as the lipid choice of the vesicles in order to give indications on the most efficient magnetoliposome carrier in terms of release upon exposure to pulsed magnetic fields. The final objective will be to investigate the efficiency of the release as a function of nanoparticle positioning inside the lipid vesicle.
The proposed research represents a highly innovative contribution with huge potentialities towards new methods of delivery of biochemical molecules, being them pharmaceutical drugs, rather than genes or hormones etc.
The combination of liposomes and magnetic nanoparticles leads to magnetoliposomes, which are promising nanocarriers for directing drugs to specific tissues and organs, avoiding the side effects of current treatments. Magnetoliposomes can also be tracked in biological matrices allowing their in vivo monitorization by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) [Pankhurst, Q. A.; Connolly, J.; Jones, S. K.; Dobson, J. Applications of Magnetic Nanoparticles in Biomedicine. J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 2003, 36 (13), R167¿R181; Revia, R. A.; Zhang, M. Magnetite Nanoparticles for Cancer Diagnosis, Treatment, and Treatment Monitoring: Recent Advances. Mater. Today (Oxford, U. K.) 2016, 19 (3), 157¿168]. The main challenge in this area is the incorporation of the nanoparticles without compromising liposome membrane integrity and avoiding the leakage of encapsulated compounds.
To use magnetoliposomes as analytical tool, their surface must be modified enabling coupling to bioreceptors. Appropriately modified lipids can be inserted directly during synthesis, or they can be inserted after synthesis by intercalation of the hydrophobic chains into the outer lipid bilayer [C A. Hermann, C Hofmann, A Duerkop, A J. Baeumner, Magnetosomes for bioassays by merging fluorescent liposomes and magnetic nanoparticles: encapsulation and bilayer insertion strategies, Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-020-02503-0], or covalent coupling reactions can be performed with purified liposomes.
As a whole, magnetoliposomes are valuable nanosystems that combine the benefits of magnetic nanoparticles and liposomes. Due to their capabilities, many research groups have been dedicated to synthesis methods that improve these nanosystems and have also exhaustively studied their potentialities. The characterization of these hybrid nanostructures is one of the main drawbacks in the development of these nanocarriers, as many complementary techniques are needed for full characterization. The optimization of their behavior when exposed to magnetic fields, in terms of nanoparticle positioning, is one of the issues to be assessed before moving to clinical trials.