Systematic Quantification of Electron Transfer in a Bare Phospholipid Membrane Using Nitroxide-Labeled Stearic Acids: Distance Dependence, Kinetics, and Activation Parameters

Development of a Microfluidic Formatted Ultrasound-Controlled Monodisperse Lipid Vesicles' Hydrogel Dressing Combined with Ultrasound for Transdermal Drug Delivery System

Transdermal drug delivery system (TDDS) has attracted much attention in the pharmaceutical technology area. However, the current methods are difficult to ensure penetration efficiency, controllability, and safety in the dermis, so its widespread clinical use has been limited. This work proposes an ultrasound-controlled monodisperse lipid vesicles (U-CMLVs) hydrogel dressing, which combines with ultrasound to form TDDS. Using microfluidic technology, prepare size controllable U-CMLVs with high drug encapsulation efficiency and quantitative encapsulation of ultrasonic response materials, and even uniform mix them with hydrogel to prepare the required thickness of dressings. The high encapsulation efficiency can ensure sufficient dosage of the drugs and further realize the control of ultrasonic response through quantitative encapsulation of ultrasound-responsive materials. Using high frequency (5 MHz, 0.4 W cm-2 ) and low frequency (60 kHz, 1 W cm-2 ) ultrasound to control the movement and rupture of U-CMLVs, the contents not only penetrate the stratum corneum into the epidermis but also break through the bottleneck of penetration efficiency, and deep into the dermis. These findings provide the groundwork for deep, controllable, efficient, and safe drug delivery through TDDS and lay a foundation for further expanding its application.

Membrane Tension Modifies Redox Loading and Release in Single Liposome Electroanalysis

Here, we present a study of how liposomes are loaded and release their contents during their electrochemical detection. We loaded 200 nm liposomes with a redox mediator, ferrocyanide, and used amperometry to detect their collision on a carbon-fiber microelectrode (CFE). We found that we could control the favorability of their electroporation process and the amount of ferrocyanide released by modifying the osmolarity of the buffer in which the liposomes were suspended. Interestingly, we observed that the quantity of the released ferrocyanide varied significantly with buffer osmolarity in a nonmonotonic fashion. Using stimulated Raman scattering (SRS), we confirmed that this behavior was partly explained by fluctuations in the intravesicular redox concentration in response to osmotic pressure. To our surprise, the redox concentration obtained from SRS was much greater than that obtained from amperometry, implying that liposomes may release only a fraction of their contents during electroporation. Consistent with this hypothesis, we observed barrages of electrochemical signals that far exceeded the frequency predicted by Poisson statistics, suggesting that single liposomes can collide with the CFE and electroporate multiple times. With this study, we have resolved some outstanding questions surrounding electrochemical detection of liposomes while extending observations from giant unilamellar vesicles to 200 nm liposomes with high temporal resolution and sensitivity.

Spirulina sp. LEB 18-extracted phycocyanin: Effects on liposomes' physicochemical parameters and correlation with antiradical/antioxidant properties

This study describes the physicochemical properties of soybean asolectin (ASO) liposomes loaded with phycocyanin (Phy) extracted from Spirulina sp. LEB 18. The effects of Phy in the liposomes' properties were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), ¹H and ³¹P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), zeta (ζ)-potential, dynamic light scattering (DLS) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) techniques. Phy restricted the motion of ASO polar and interface groups and disrupted the package arrangement of the lipid hydrophobic regions, as a likely effect of dipolar and π interactions related to its amino acid residues and pyrrole portions. These interactions were correlated to antiradical/antioxidant Phy responses obtained by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhidrazil (DPPH) assay, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) methods, and discussed to bring new chemical perspectives about Phy-loaded liposomes-related nutraceutical applications in inflammatory and viral infection processes.