Spectroscopic Study of the Interaction of Carboxyl-Modified Gold Nanoparticles with Liposomes of Different Chain Lengths and Controlled Drug Release by Layer-by-Layer Technology

In this article, we investigate the interactions of carboxyl-modified gold nanoparticles (AuC) with zwitterionic phospholipid liposomes of different chain lengths using a well-known membrane probe PRODAN by steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopy. We use three zwitterionic lipids, namely, dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC), 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC), and 1,2-dilauroyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DLPC), which are widely different in their phase transition temperatures to form liposome–AuC assemblies. The steady-state and time-resolved studies indicate that the AuC brings in stability toward liposomes by local gelation. We observe that the bound AuC detach from the surface of the liposomes under pH ≈ 5 due to protonation of the carboxyl group, thus eliminating the electrostatic interaction between nanoparticles and head groups of liposomes. The detachment rate of AuC from the liposome–AuC assemblies is different for the aforementioned liposomes due to differences in their fluidity. We exploited the phenomena for the controlled release of a prominent anticancer drug Doxorubicin (DOX) under acidic conditions for different zwitterionic liposomes. The drug release rate was further optimized by coating of liposome–AuC assemblies with oppositely charged polymer (P), polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride, followed by a mixture of lipids L (DMPC:DMPG) and again with a polymer in a layer-by-layer fashion to obtain capsule-like structures. This system is highly stable for weeks, as confirmed by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) imaging, and inhibits premature release. The layer coating was confirmed by hydrodynamic size and zeta potential measurements of the systems. The capsules obtained are of immense importance as they can control release of the drug from the systems to a large extent.