Construction of thermal- and light-responsive liposomes noncovalently decorated with gold nanoparticles

Abstract

Liposome-nanoparticle assemblies (LNAs) are promising drug carriers that can easily encapsulate drugs and probes and can manifest smart responses to the environment. Here in this work, we constructed a GNP–liposome complex, called GNP–DPPC, by decorating GNPs onto the surface of thermal-responsive DPPC liposomes using noncovalent interactions. We found that the introduction of GNP not only gives GNP–DPPC a higher CLT (critical leakage temperature), but also causes GNP–DPPC to have a faster leakage near its CLT. Furthermore, GNP–DPPC could release contents under the illumination of a 532 nm laser beam, which is a relatively mild condition. Moreover, GNP–DPPC is stable in cell media and can be absorbed into cells. Such light-induced contents release behavior and fast thermal response, as well as its cellular behavior, would make it a candidate for further use in drug delivery in living cells.