Effect of poly(ethylene glycol) grafts on temperature-sensitivity of thermosensitive polymer-modified liposomes.

A copolymer of N-isopropylacrylamide and N-acryloylpyrrolidine, which exhibits a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) at 38 degrees C, having a didodecyl group at the chain terminal was synthesized and calcein-loaded liposomes were prepared from a mixture of dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine and the copolymer. While the contents release from the copolymer-modified liposomes was strongly accelerated around the LCST of the copolymer, some extent of the release was also observed below the LCST, probably because the partly-dehydrated copolymer chains interacted with the liposome membrane. When poly(ethylene glycol) with the number average molecular weight of 550 having a didodecyl group at the chain end was introduced into the copolymer-modified liposomes, the contents release from the copolymer-modified liposomes was effectively suppressed below the LCST but hardly affected above the LCST. As a result, the liposomes exhibited much sharper enhancement of the contents release in a narrow temperature region. The temperature-sensitive contents release property of the copolymer-modified liposomes became less significant in the presence of serum. However, inclusion of the anchor-bearing poly(ethylene glycol) derivative improved the contents release behavior of the copolymer-modified liposomes in the presence of serum.

Transfection activity of polyamidoamine dendrimers having hydrophobic amino acid residues in the periphery.

We designed poly(amidoamine) dendrimers with phenylalanine or leucine residues at their chain ends. Thereby, we achieved efficient gene transfection of cells through synergy of the proton sponge effect, which is induced by the internal tertiary amines of the dendrimer, and hydrophobic interaction by the hydrophobic amino acid residues in the dendrimer periphery. Dendrimers having 16, 29, 46, and 64 terminal phenylalanine residues were prepared by the reaction of the amine-terminated poly(amidoamine) G4 dendrimer and L-phenylalanine using condensing reagent 1,3-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide. Transfection activity of these phenylalanine-modified dendrimers for CV1 cells, an African green monkey kidney cell line, increased concomitant with the increasing number of the terminal phenylalanine residues, except for the dendrimer with 64 phenylalanine residues, which showed poor water solubility and hardly formed a complex with DNA at neutral pH. However, under weakly acidic conditions, the dendrimer with 64 phenylalanine residues formed a complex with DNA, thereby achieving highly efficient transfection. In contrast, the attachment of L-leucine residues was unable to improve the transfection activity of the parent dendrimer, probably because of the relatively lower hydrophobicity of this amino acid. The phenylalanine-modified dendrimer exhibited a higher transfection activity and a lower cytotoxicity than some widely used transfection reagents. For that reason, the phenylalanine-modified dendrimers are considered to be promising gene carriers.

Temperature sensitization of liposomes by use of thermosensitive block copolymers synthesized by living cationic polymerization: effect of copolymer chain length.

We prepared block copolymers of (2-ethoxy)ethoxyethyl vinyl ether (EOEOVE) and octadecyl vinyl ether (ODVE) with the number average molecular weights of 6900, 9300, and 16 700 by living cationic polymerization. The poly(EOEOVE) block acts as a temperature-sensitive moiety, and the poly(ODVE) block acts as an anchor moiety. We also investigated the effect of chain length of the copolymer poly(EOEOVE) block on the ability to sensitize liposomes. The copolymers underwent a coil-globule transition at approximately 36 degrees C in the presence of a membrane of egg yolk phosphatidylcholine (EYPC), detected using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Liposomes encapsulating calcein, a water-soluble fluorescent dye, were prepared from mixtures of dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine, EYPC, and the copolymers. While the copolymer-modified liposomes released little calcein below 30 degrees C, release was enhanced above 35 degrees C, indicating that dehydrated copolymer chains destabilized the liposome membrane. In addition, copolymers with a longer poly(EOEOVE) block induced a more drastic enhancement of contents release in a narrow temperature region near the transition temperature of the poly(EOEOVE) block. As a result, the copolymer with an average molecular weight of 16 700 generated highly sensitive liposomes that produced rapid and dramatic release of the contents in response to temperature.

Temperature sensitization of liposomes by use of N-isopropylacrylamide copolymers with varying transition endotherms.

Three kinds of copolymers of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) with the same conformational transition temperature and varying transition endotherms were synthesized with N-acryloylpyrrolidine (APr), N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMAM), and N-isopropylmethacrylamide (NIPMAM) as the comonomers. Two dodecyl groups were incorporated into the termini of these copolymers as an anchor for the fixation to a liposomal membrane. Egg yolk phosphatidylcholine liposomes having these copolymers were prepared and their temperature-sensitive contents release and association properties were investigated. While these copolymer exhibited a conformational transition at ca. 40 degrees C, DeltaH for the transition increased in the order of poly(APr-co-NIPAM) < poly(DMAM-co-NIPAM) < poly(NIPMAM-co-NIPAM). The liposomes containing poly(NIPMAM-co-NIPAM) showed a drastic release enhancement of entrapped calcein above the transition temperature, whereas the liposomes with poly(DMAM-co-NIPAM) and those with poly(APr-co-NIPAM) exhibited moderate and slight enhancement of calcein release above that temperature, respectively. On the contrary, the liposomes containing poly(APr-co-NIPAM) showed significant aggregation above the transition temperature, but the aggregation was hardly observed for the liposomes having poly(NIPMAM-co-NIPAM), indicating that poly(APr-co-NIPAM) more efficiently made the liposome surface hydrophobic. Thus, we concluded that the copolymer with a large DeltaH is suitable for obtaining functional liposomes with a temperature-sensitive contents release property, whereas the copolymer with a small DeltaH is appropriate for preparing functional liposomes with a temperature-sensitive surface property.

Rendering poly(amidoamine) or poly(propylenimine) dendrimers temperature sensitive.

The poly(amidoamine) dendrimers having terminal isobutyramide (IBAM) groups were prepared by the reaction of isobutyric acid and the amine-terminated poly(amidoamine) dendrimers with generations (G) of 2 to 5 by using a condensing agent, 1,3-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide. 1H and 13C NMR revealed that an IBAM group was attached to essentially every chain end of the dendrimers. While the IBAM-terminated G2 dendrimer was soluble in water, the IBAM-terminated G3, G4, and G5 dendrimers exhibited the lower critical solution temperatures (LCSTs) at 75, 61, and 43 degrees C, respectively. Because the density of the terminal IBAM groups in the periphery of the dendrimer progressively increases with increasing dendrimer generation, the interaction of the IBAM groups might take place more efficiently, resulting in a remarkable decrease in the LCST. In addition, attachment of IBAM groups to poly(propylenimine) dendrimers could give the temperature-sensitive property, indicating that this is an efficient method to render dendrimers temperature sensitive.

Diarylurea-linked zinc porphyrin dimer as a dual-mode artificial receptor: supramolecular control of complexation-facilitated photoinduced electron transfer.

A novel porphyrinic receptor 1 in which two zinc porphyrins are bridged by two diarylurea linkers was developed for recognition of a viologen derivative (hexyl viologen, HV). The electronic absorption spectra as well as the 1H NMR experiments revealed that the HV molecule was bound to the cleft in 1 mainly through carbonyl dipole-charge interactions to afford a 1:1 complex. From the steady-state fluorescence spectroscopic study, the photoinduced electron transfer (PET) from 1 to HV was extremely facilitated by the receptor-substrate complexation. The receptor 1 also formed a 1:1 complex with 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO) through two Zn-N coordination interactions, and, using DABCO as an inhibitor, we suppressed the PET reaction via the substrate exchange.

Synthesis of novel cationic lipids having polyamidoamine dendrons and their transfection activity.

We designed a novel type of cationic lipid, lipids with a cationic polar group in the polyamidoamine dendron, because these dendron-bearing lipids are expected to form complexes with plasmid DNA and achieve efficient transfection of cells by synergy of endosome buffering and membrane fusion with the endosome, both of which are useful for the promotion of the transfer of plasmid DNA from endosome to cytosol. Four kinds of lipids with polyamidoamine dendrons of first to fourth generations, DL-G1, DL-G2, DL-G3, and DL-G4, were synthesized. The lipid with a dendron of a higher generation exhibited greater ability to form lipoplexes with plasmid DNA, as estimated by agarose gel electrophoresis. While the DL-G1 lipoplex did not transfect CV1 cells, the lipoplexes containing the DL-G2, DL-G3, or DL-G4 could induce transfection of the cells, and their activity was elevated with increasing generation of the dendron. Addition of dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE), which is known to increase fusion ability of a lipid membrane, into the lipoplexes greatly enhanced their transfection activity. In addition, the comparison with DC-Chol-containing lipoplex, which is widely used as a nonviral vector, showed that the DL-G3-DOPE lipoplex exhibits more efficient transfections. These findings imply that these dendron-bearing lipids may form the basis for a novel family of cationic lipids for efficient gene delivery.