The Anionic Boron Cluster (B₁₂H₁₁SH)²⁻ as a Means To Trigger Release of Liposome Contents

Shedding light on the puzzle of drug-membrane interactions: Experimental techniques and molecular dynamics simulations

“…One example is the release of a self-quenched carboxyfluorescein or calcein probe that is incorporated in lipid vesicles and released due to leakage of the vesicle [40,272]. Using fluorescence spectroscopy, the release can be monitored over time [40,273]. Other strategies rely on microscopy using inverted optical microscopy for giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) or atomic force microscopy (AFM) for supported lipid bilayers [265,274].…”

Stealth Amphiphiles: Self-Assembly of Polyhedral Boron Clusters

“…It is interpreted by the fact that dodecaborate act as hydrophilic but superchaotropic anion in water solution. 30,[44][45][46][47] It means that water is less structured and more "lipophilic" around such anions as compared to bulk water. Association of chaotropes with cyclodextrins is explained not in terms of hydrophobic action but as so-called chaotropic effect because it is enthalpy driven.…”

Towards boron neutron capture therapy: The formulation and preliminary in vitro evaluation of liposomal vehicles for the therapeutic delivery of the dequalinium salt of bis-nido-carborane

“…Whilst liposomes represent one such type of drug-delivery vehicle-with a significant body of literature on the preparation of formulations containing boronated agents 5-10 -there have been very few studies on the physicochemical characterisation of such formulations. [11][12][13] To this end, we now report on the synthesis and characterization of liposomes comprising of phosphatidylcholine (PC) or dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) that have been co-formulated with the nido-carborane salt of dequalinium (B 18 C 34 N 4 H 64 ) (Fig. 1), a compound belonging to the class of delocalized lipophilic cations (DLC), 14 which are known to accumulate selectively into the mitochondria of cancer cells.…”

“…11 Towards a preliminary assessment of the effects of the constituents of the formulation on cell growth capacity, U-87 MG cells were incubated (48 h) with increasing concentrations of bis-nidocarborane dequalinium salt, Optical microscopy allowed the visualisation of untreated cells as spindle-shaped adherent structures that grow as a monolayer ( Fig. 6A).…”