Effects of the PEG molecular weight of a PEG-lipid and cholesterol on PEG chain flexibility on liposome surfaces

PEGylation of lipoplexes: The right balance between cytotoxicity and siRNA effectiveness

The delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA) is an attractive therapeutic approach to treat several pathologies, such as viral infections or cancers. However, the stability and the efficacy of these biotherapies are still a major obstacle to their use. Cationic liposomes (DOTAP/Chol/DOPE 1/0.75/0.5M ratio) have been complexed to siRNA (lipoplexes) in order to be administrated by the vaginal route, in the context of HPV16 induced cervical preneoplastic lesions. To overcome the constraint of the cervico-vaginal mucus, PEGylation is required to allow the diffusion of lipoplexes through it. Thereby, PEGylated lipoplexes coated with three types of polyethylene glycol (PEG) as DSPE-PEG2000, DSPE-PEG750 or C8-PEG2000-Ceramide (Ceramide-PEG2000) at different densities have been developed and characterized. PEGylated lipoplexes were successfully prepared and showed a hydrodynamic diameter around 200nm, appropriate for vaginal application. In vitro assays on HPV16 positive cell lines revealed that a positive charge of PEGylated lipoplexes allows a higher mRNA knockdown by siRNA. However, the cationic property is also associated to cytotoxicity. The addition of a high percentage of PEG prevented this toxicity but seemed also to reduce siRNA endosomal escape, probably by steric hindrance. The decreasing of PEG density of Ceramide-PEG2000 to 20% allows the release of siRNA and in consequence, biological activities, contrarily to DSPE-PEG. These results suggest that Ceramide-PEG is more appropriate for siRNA delivery compared to DSPE-PEG. In conclusion, the right balance between cytotoxicity and siRNA effectiveness has been found with the transfection of lipoplexes coated with 20% of Ceramide-PEG2000. This new nanovector could have a high potential against multiple mucosal diseases, such as human papillomavirus-induced genital lesions.

A Copper-Mediated Disulfiram-Loaded pH-Triggered PEG-Shedding TAT Peptide-Modified Lipid Nanocapsules for Use in Tumor Therapy

Disulfiram, which exhibits marked tumor inhibition mediated by copper, was encapsulated in lipid nanocapsules modified with TAT peptide (TATp) and pH-triggered sheddable PEG to target cancer cells on the basis of tumor environmental specificity. PEG-shedding lipid nanocapsules (S-LNCs) were fabricated from LNCs by decorating short PEG chains with TATp (HS-PEG(1k)-TATp) to form TATp-LNCs and then covered by pH-sensitive graft copolymers of long PEG chains (PGA-g-PEG(2k)). The DSF-S-LNCs had sizes in the range of 60-90 nm and were stable in the presence of 50% plasma. DSF-S-LNCs exhibited higher intracellular uptake and antitumor activity at pH 6.5 than at pH 7.4. The preincubation of Cu showed that the DSF cytotoxicity was based on the accumulation of Cu in Hep G2 cells. Pharmacokinetic studies showed the markedly improved pharmacokinetic profiles of DSF-S-LNCs (AUC= 3921.391 μg/L·h, t(1/2z) = 1.294 h) compared with free DSF (AUC = 907.724 μg/L·h, t(1/2z) = 0.252 h). The in vivo distribution of S-LNCs was investigated using Cy5.5 as a fluorescent probe. In tumor-bearing mice, the delivery efficiency of S-LNCs was found to be 496.5% higher than that of free Cy5.5 and 74.5% higher than that of LNCs in tumors. In conclusion, DSF-S-LNCs increased both the stability and tumor internalization and further increased the cytotoxicity because of the higher copper content.