PEGylation of Phosphatidylglycerol/Docosahexaenoic Acid Hexosomes with d -α-Tocopheryl Succinate Poly(ethylene glycol)2000Induces Morphological Transformation into Vesicles with Prolonged Circulation Times

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

  • Gizem Bor
  • Jen Hao Lin
  • Kui Yu Lin
  • Hung Chih Chen
  • Ray Putra Prajnamitra
  • Stefan Salentinig
  • Patrick C.H. Hsieh
  • Seyed Moein Moghimi
  • Yaghmur, Anan

Considering the broad therapeutic potential of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), here we study the effect of PEGylation of DHA-incorporated hexosomes on their physicochemical characteristics and biodistribution following intravenous injection into mice. Hexosomes were formed from phosphatidylglycerol and DHA with a weight ratio of 3:2. PEGylation was achieved through the incorporation of either d-α-tocopheryl succinate poly(ethylene glycol)2000(TPGS-mPEG2000) or 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-methoxy-poly(ethylene glycol)2000(DSPE-mPEG2000) at a concentration of 1.5 wt %. Nanoparticle tracking analysis, synchrotron small-angle scattering, and cryo-transmission electron microscopy were employed to characterize the nanodispersions. The results show that PEGylated lipids induce a structural transition from an inverse hexagonal (H2) phase inside the nanoparticles (hexosomes) to a lamellar (Lα) phase (vesicles). We also followed the effect of mouse plasma on the nanodispersion size distribution, number, and morphology because changes brought by plasma constituents could regulate the in vivo performance of intravenously injected nanodispersions. For comparative biodistribution studies, fluorescently labeled nanodispersions of equivalent quantum yields were injected intravenously into healthy mice. TPGS-mPEG2000-induced vesicles were most effective in avoiding hepatosplenic clearance at early time points. In an orthotopic xenograft murine model of glioblastoma, TPGS-mPEG2000-induced vesicles also showed improved localization to the brain compared with native hexosomes. We discuss these observations and their implications for the future design of injectable lyotropic nonlamellar liquid crystalline drug delivery nanosystems for therapeutic interventions of brain and liver diseases.

Original languageEnglish
JournalACS applied materials & interfaces
Volume14
Issue number43
Pages (from-to)48449-48463
ISSN1944-8244
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Financial support to AY & SMM by the Danish Council for Independent Research | Technology and Production Sciences (reference DFF-7017-00065) is gratefully acknowledged. AY further acknowledges financial support from the Danish Natural Sciences Research Council (DanScatt) for SAXS experiments. The authors are grateful to the beamline scientist Dr. Heinz Amenitsch (Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Graz University of Technology) at the Austrian SAXS beamline (ELETTRA, Trieste, Italy) and Dr. Klaus Qvortrup (Core Facility for Integrated Microscopy, University of Copenhagen) for their technical assistance with the SAXS investigations and cryo-TEM imaging, respectively. The authors also thank Dr. Tom André Jos Vosch, Cecilia Cerretani, and Letizia Liccardo (Department of Chemistry, University of Copenhagen) for their support with the quantum yield measurements. The Genomics Research Center (Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan) is acknowledged for their technical assistance with the in vivo imaging studies. The authors further thank Paul Po-Ju Lin and San-Shan Huang (Institute of Biomedical Science, Academia Sinica) for their dedication and technical support with the animal experiments. The authors acknowledge the CERIC-ERIC Consortium for the access to experimental facilities and financial support.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Authors. All rights reserved.

    Research areas

  • biodistribution, cryogenic transmission electron microscopy, hexosomes, in vivo optical imaging, mouse, orthotopic xenograft glioblastoma, PEGylation, synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering

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