The Effect of Surface Charges on the Cellular Uptake of Liposomes Investigated by Live Cell Imaging

Abstract

Purpose: Liposomes have been developed as versatile nanocarriers for various pharmacological agents. The effect of surface charges on the cellular uptake of the liposomes has been studied by various methods using mainly fixed cells with inevitable limitations. Live cell imaging has been proposed as an alternative methods to overcome the limitations of the fixed cell-based analysis. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of surface charges on cellular association and internalization of the liposomes using live cell imaging.

Methods: We studied the cellular association and internalization of liposomes with different surface charge using laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) equipped with live cell chamber system. Flow cytometry was also carried out using flow cytometer (FACS) for comparison.

Results: All of the cationic, neutral and anionic liposomes showed time-dependent cellular uptake through specific endocytic pathways. In glioblastoma U87MG cells, the cationic and anionic liposomes were mainly taken up via macropinocytosis, while the neutral liposomes mainly via caveolae-mediated endocytosis. In fibroblast NIH/3T3 cells, all of the three liposomes entered into the cell via clathrin-mediated endocytosis.

Conclusions: This study provides a better understanding on the cellular uptake mechanisms of the liposomes, which could contribute significantly to development of liposome-based drug delivery systems.

Keywords: cellular uptake; confocal microscopy; endocytosis; flow cytometer; liposomes.