Liposomal systems as carriers for bioactive compounds

Abstract

Since the revolutionary discovery that phospholipids can form closed bilayered structures in aqueous systems, the study of liposomes has become a very interesting area of research. The versatility and amazing biocompatibility of liposomes has resulted in their wide-spread use in many scientific fields, and many of their applications, especially in medicine, have yielded breakthroughs in recent decades. Specifically, their easy preparation and various structural aspects have given rise to broadly usable methodologies to internalize different compounds, with either lipophilic or hydrophilic properties. The study of compounds with potential biotechnological application(s) is generally related to evaluation and risk assessment of the possible cytotoxic or therapeutic effects of the compound under study. In most cases, undesirable sideeffects are associated with an interaction of the liposome with the cell membrane and/or its absorption and subsequent interaction with a cellular biomolecule. Liposomal carrier systems have an unprecedented potential for delivering bioactive substances to specific molecular targets due to their biocompatibility, biodegradability and low toxicity. Liposomes are therefore considered to be an invaluable asset in applied biotechnology studies due to their potential for interaction with both hydrophilic and lipophilic compounds.

Matrix vesicles from chondrocytes and osteoblasts: Their biogenesis, properties, functions and biomimetic models

“…Proteoliposomes provide a means of reconstituting lipid vesicles [205, 206] that function like MVs, making these structures an advantageous and convenient experimental model to understand MV-mediated mineralization. They may be constituted of a single type of lipid or a mixture of lipids [207], with proteins and/or electrolytes [208–216].…”

Biomedical applications of nanotechnology

“…Actually, proteinassociated liposomes (proteoliposomes) can be employed to investigate the action of photosensitive dyes applied during photodynamic therapy (Bolfarini et al 2012;Longo et al 2012;Faria et al 2015) to prevent/treat several diseases (Daghastanli et al 2004;De Lima Santos et al 2005;Zucolotto et al 2007;Ciancaglini et al 2012;Simão et al 2015). Proteoliposomes can be used to study how the protein-lipid interactions specifically affect the surface of the membrane model.…”

“…Proteoliposomes can be used to study how the protein-lipid interactions specifically affect the surface of the membrane model. The scientific community has highlighted this approach as an excellent tool to understand biochemical and biophysical phenomena and to evaluate biotechnological applications (Camolezi et al 2002;Ierardi et al 2002;Daghastanli et al 2004;De Lima Santos et al 2005;Rigos et al 2008;Santos et al 2009;Bolean et al 2010Bolean et al , 2011Bolean et al , 2015Simão et al 2010aSimão et al , 2010bBarbosa et al 2011;Yoneda et al 2013Yoneda et al , 2014Simão et al 2015;Dong et al 2016;Elkhodiry et al 2016). …”

Biophysical aspects of biomineralization

“…To form unilamellar vesicles with a single concentric bilayer similar to natural membranes, multilamellar vesicles can be sonicated or extruded to nanometric dimensions. Sonication as well as extrusion processes supply the necessary energy to break the different lamellas and reorganize the bilayers into uniform and control-sized vesicles (Camolezi et al 2002;Daghastanli et al 2004;de Lima Santos et al 2005;Ierardi et al 2002;Rigos et al 2008;Simao et al 2015).…”

“…Anchored membrane proteins are a class of proteins with a covalently bound lipid or alkyl chain; this chain provides a hydrophobic moiety that allows attachment to the membrane and plays specific functions in cells (Yeagle 1993). For this class of proteins, the method of incorporation via direct insertion guarantees that the protein is associated with the external leaflet of the liposome's membrane (Bolean et al 2010(Bolean et al , 2011Camolezi et al 2002;Daghastanli et al 2004;de Lima Santos et al 2005;Ierardi et al 2002;Rigos et al 2008Rigos et al , 2010Simao et al 2010aSimao et al , 2015. The incorporation of the protein/enzyme is time-dependent and the incorporation yield depends on the lipid composition used to form the vesicles .…”