How stereochemistry affects the physicochemical features of gemini surfactant based cationic liposomes

Abstract

The physicochemical features of mixed cationic liposomes formulated with 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcoline and one of three stereomeric cationic gemini surfactants were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry, fluorescence, TEM and dynamic laser light scattering. Actually, it was shown that the different stereochemistry of these gemini can strongly influence their capability of condensing and transfecting a plasmid DNA and of delivering a photosensitizer. The results obtained in this investigation show that the stereochemistry of liposome components and their percentage in the formulation may have dramatic effects on the organization of the lipid bilayer and hence on the morphological and physicochemical features of vesicles, thus being highly relevant to the biological features evaluated previously.