The Modulation of the Permeability and the Cellular Uptake of Liposome by Stable Anchoring of Lipid-Conjugated Pluronic on Liposome

Controlling the permeability of liposome is important to modulate the release behavior of drug from the liposome. Pluronic F127 (PF127) is a biocompatible tri-block copolymer, which can interact with lipid bilayer of liposomes and make leakages that allow the release of hydrophilic substance from liposome interior. However, the interaction between unmodified PF127 and lipid bilayer is not very strong and the incorporated PF127 is easily desorbed from the liposomes in an infinite reservoir condition. In this paper, we conjugated lipid molecule (1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine [DSPE]) at the both ends of PF127 to increase the interaction between polymer and liposome. This lipid-conjugated PF127 was incorporated into the liposomes and it remained stably without desorption from liposomes in an infinite reservoir condition. The stably bound PF127 increased the release rate of hydrophilic drug from liposomes in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, the lipid-conjugated PF127 changed the surface property of liposomes and inhibited its cellular uptake when the incorporated amount was above 2.5 wt%. In conclusion, the lipid-conjugated PF127 could function as a stable anchor on the lipid bilayer of liposomes to control the permeability as well as provide the hydrophilic surface of liposomes in an open system like an in vivo situation.