Browsing by Subject "liposomi"
Now showing items 1-6 of 6
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(2016)The leading causes of vision loss in developed countries are related to the impairment of the posterior segment of the eye. The drug delivery to the posterior segment with topical or systemic methods is challenging due to the protective barriers of the eye. The conventional and effective technique to deliver therapeutic concentrations of drugs to the posterior segment is intravitreal injection. Since naked molecules usually have a rapid vitreal clearance, the invasive injections need repeated administration in chronic conditions, resulting to increased risk of complications and poor patient compliance. The growing field of research of drug delivery systems, such as implants, nano- and microparticles and liposomes emphasizes to answer these challenges by enhancing time-controlled and targeted drug release to retinal and choroidal tissues, enabling less frequent administration and reduced off-target side effects. Liposomal drug delivery systems have potential in delivering therapeutics to posterior eye tissues in sustained and targeted manner. The experimental part of the thesis focused on studying the cell uptake, content release and cytotoxicity of light triggered pH-sensitive gold nanoparticle liposomes in human retinal pigment epithelial (ARPE-19), human umbilical vein endothelial (HUVEC) and monkey choroidal endothelial (RF/6A) cell lines. To enhance the cell differentiation to resemble the in vivo morphology, ARPE-19 cells were also used as a filter-cultured model. HUVEC cells were cultured on an artificial basement membrane matrix and induced with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) to form capillary like tube structures. The liposomes were not cytotoxic during 24-hour incubation. All cells internalized liposomes to some extent, but in HUVEC capillary tubes the uptake seemed to be negligible. The light induced calcein release was variable between the experiments, possibly due to the study setting related factors, such as difficulties in temperature control. The liposomal carrier system has promising attributes to posterior eye drug delivery. Liposome-encapsulation prolongs the half-live of a drug. Light triggered release and pH-sensitivity enables highly targeted intracellular drug release decreasing the off-target side effects. Optimization of the study arrangement and liposome production procedure is needed in order to get more reliable results and further assess the future potential of these liposomes in the treatment of posterior eye diseases.
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(2016)Extracellular vesicles are cell-derived vesicles which consist of two lipid layers. Extracellular vesicles involve in intercellular communication, maintaining of homeostase and development of pathophysiological states in human body. Extracellular vesicles are promising biomarkers and drug carriers in future. The aim of this study was to develop a method based on time resolved fluorescence microscopy and autologous extracellular vesicles labelled with environmentally sensitive fluorescent probes for studying the distribution of mitose-inhibitor paclitaxel in prostate cancer cells (PC-3) carried by extracellular vesicles. The efficacy of paclitaxel loaded extracellular vesicles was compared to synthetic liposomes. The two subpopulations of extracellular vesicles, exosome -and microvesicle-enriched, were isolated from the PC-3 cell media by differential ultracentrifugation. The size distribution and particle concentration of extracellular vesicles was determined by nanoparticle tracking analysis. DSPC-Cholesterol liposomes were prepared by reverse-phase evaporation method and the size distribution of the liposomes was determined by dynamic laser diffraction and nanoparticle tracking analysis. Paclitaxel was loaded into the liposomes in hydration phase and into the extracellular vesicles by incubating vesicles and paclitaxel. Unbound paclitaxel was removed from samples by ultracentrifugation. The the dose-dependent sytotoxicity of paclitaxel loaded extracellular vesicles and liposomes was evaluated with Alamar Blue viability assay. The release and distribution of paclitaxel from extracellular vesicles in living PC-3 cells was investigated by confocal microscopy and time-resolved fluorescence microscopy. The exosomes had approximately 50 nm smaller diameter than microvesicles and exosome particle concentrations were significantly higher compared to microvesicles. According to viability assays conducted with wide range of concentrations, paclitaxel loaded in microvesicles were slightly more effective than paclitaxel loaded in exosomes. The time-resolved fluorescence microscopy was useful method for investigating the release and distribution of extracellular vesicle bound paclitaxel, since we succesfully detected changes in Paclitaxel-OregonGreen fluorescence lifetime in different phases of the drug delivery process. With confocal microscopy we detected that paclitaxel loaded extracellular vesicles were already uptaken inside the cells after two hours of incubation and after few hours, paclitaxel was detected in microtubules of PC-3 cells and killed PC-3 cells. Extracellular vesicles may improve the accumulation of paclitaxel into tumor cells thus preventing the side-effects of paclitaxel. Nevertheless, PC-3 cell derived extracellular vesicles have ability to increase the PC-3 cell viability, which limits their potential use as drug carrier due to safety issues. In addition, extracellular vesicles characterization and isolation methods lack standardization and the isolation of exosomes and microvesicles is impossible due to this fact. Extracellular vesicles involvement in physiological and pathophysiological states should be investigated throughoutly and their safety as drug carriers should be examined both in animal and human.
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(2018)Liposomes are nanosized drug delivery vesicles composed of phospholipid membranes. They present an attractive drug delivery system due to their bioavailability and flexibility. Liposomes can be prepared by different techniques. They can carry both hydrophobic and hydrophilic molecules and their surface can be modified with targeting molecules. Coating the liposome surface with the PEG derivative makes their pharmacokinetics easier to predict. There are several liposome-based medicinal products already on the market. Triggering of drug delivery systems by different external or internal stimuli allows precise control of drug release. Light-triggered drug release is an attractive alternative due to the easy control and regulation of the stimulus. The problem with light-triggered therapy has previously been the need to use high-energy ultraviolet light that penetrates badly to the tissues and is not safe. In TTA-UC process the low-energy red or green light is converted to high-energy blue light. In this process photosensitive molecules are excited by visible light and after that the energy is transferred from sensitizer to annihilator molecules. Collision of two annihilators leads to the excitation of the other molecule while the other returns back to its general energy state. The excitation breaks up with fluorescence. In this process the highly permeable and safe red light is converted to blue light which has enough energy to induce drug release. The aim of this work was to optimize liposomal preparation method and prepare a pegylated and stabile liposome formulation for TTA-UC process. Hydrophobic light sensitive molecules were loaded into the phospholipid membrane as much as possible. One of the problems in this work was to find proper methods to measure the concentrations of these molecules. The lipid composition for formulation was chosen after thermostability studies. As a quality control, the size, capability to load calcein and phase transition temperature of liposomes were measured. The quality control of light sensitive molecules was operated too. In this work, the formulation for TTA-UC was prepared. In further studies TTA-UC process happened with sufficient efficacy. The formulation was pegylated and stable in physiological conditions and the concentrations of the molecules were high enough. This was the very first time to get TTA-UC to happen in this kind of liposome formulation that may be useful as a drug carrier. Long-term stability studies and further optimization of TTA-UC method are needed in the future. Some drug release studies are important to arrange in the future, too.
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(2018)Liposomes are nano-sized vesicles in which the aqueous phase is surrounded by lipid-derived bilayer. They are excellent drug vehicles for example in ocular drug delivery because they can, among other things, increase the bioavailability and stability of the drug molecules and reduce their toxicity. Liposomes are known to be safe to use, because they degrade within a certain period of time and they are biocompatible with the cells and tissues of the body. Owing to its structure, the surface of liposomes can also be easily modified and functionalized. Light-activated ICG liposomes allow drug release in a controlled manner at a given time and specific site. Their function is based on a small molecule called indocyanine green (ICG) which, after being exposed to laser light, absorbs light energy and thereby locally elevates the temperature of the lipid bilayer. As a result, the drug inside is released into the surroundings. The blood circulation time of liposomes has often been prolonged by coating the liposomes with polyethylene glycol (PEG). Although PEG is generally regarded as a safe and biocompatible polymer, it has been found to increase immunological reactions and PEG-specific antibodies upon repeated dosing. Conversely, hyaluronic acid (HA), is an endogenous polysaccharide, which is present in abundance for instance in vitreous. Thus, it could serve as a stealth coating material which extends the otherwise short half-life of liposomes. One of the main objectives of this thesis was to find out whether HA could be used to coat liposomes instead of PEG. In order to prepare HA-coated liposomes, one of the lipid bilayer phospholipids, DSPE, had to be first conjugated with HA. For the conjugation, potential synthesis protocols were sought from the literature. Ultimately two different reductive amination-based protocols were tested. Consequently, the protocol in which the conjugation was achieved via the aldehyde group of HA, proved to be working. Thereafter, HA-coated liposomes were prepared by thin film hydration from the newly synthesised conjugate as well as DPPC, DSPC and 18:0 Lyso PC. Calcein was encapsulated in the liposomes. HA-covered liposomes were then compared with uncoated and PEGylated liposomes by examining their phase transition temperatures, ICG absorbances, sizes, polydispersities, and both light and heat-induced drug releases. The aforementioned tests were also conducted when the effects of the HA and ICG doubling were examined and the possibility to manufacture HA liposomes with small size was assessed. HA-liposomes showed similar results as PEG-coated liposomes. In addition, successful extrusion of HA-liposomes through a 30 nm membrane was also demonstrated in the results. Doubling of HA did not significantly affect the results. In contrast, increasing the molar amount of ICG by double caused spontaneous calcein leakage even before any heat or light exposure. Based on these findings, HA could work as a coating material instead of PEG, yet further studies are required for ensuring this conclusion. The other key objective was to evaluate the stability of four different formulations, named as AL, AL18, AL16 and AL14, in storage and biological conditions. Based on the differences in the formulation phospholipid composition, the assumption was that AL would be the most stable of the group and that the stability would decrease so that AL18 and AL16 would be the next most stable and eventually AL14 would be the least stable formulation. As in the previous study, the liposomes were prepared by thin film hydration with calcein being encapsulated inside the liposomes. In the storage stability test, liposomes were stored in HEPES buffer at either 4 °C or at room temperature for one month. In the test conducted in physiological conditions, the liposomes were added either to porcine vitreous or fetal bovine serum (FBS) and the samples were incubated at 37 ºC for five days. Regardless of the experiment, phase transition temperatures as well as light and heat-induced drug releases were initially measured. As the test progressed, calcein release, ICG absorbance, size, and polydispersity were measured at each time point. The initial measurements confirmed the hypothesis about the stability differences of tested formulations. In the storage stability test, all formulations, except AL14, appeared to be stable throughout the study and no apparent differences between the formulations or temperatures were observed. On the other hand, the stability of liposomes stored in biological matrices varied so that the liposomes were more stable in vitreous than in FBS and the stability decreased in both media as expected.
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(2024)Tieteen kehittymisestä huolimatta tehokkaiden syöpähoitojen ongelmana on niiden vakavat systeemiset haittavaikutukset, jotka voivat johtaa jopa hoidon keskeyttämiseen. Haittavaikutusten vähentämiseksi lääkehoitoa on pyritty kohdentamaan paremmin syöpäkudokseen esimerkiksi valoaktivoitavien liposomien avulla, jossa liposomiin pakatun valoherkistimen altistaminen valolle aiheuttaa muutoksia liposomin lipidikaksoiskalvoon siten, että lääkeaine pääsee vapautumaan liposomista kohdennetusti säteilyn alueella. Verteporfiini-valoherkistintä on tutkittu paljon hydrofiilisten lääkeaineiden vapauttamisessa liposomeista, mutta lipofiilisten lääkeaineiden vapauttamiseen liittyviä tutkimuksia on julkaistu hyvin vähän. Tämän maisterintutkielman tarkoituksena oli selvittää, voitaisiinko verteporfiinia hyödyntää lipofiilisen, solunsalpaajana tunnetun paklitakselin vapauttamisessa liposomeista valoakivaation avulla. Hypoteesin mukaan myös sytotoksisia vaikutuksia omaavan verteporfiinin yhdistäminen samaan liposomiin paklitakselin kanssa lisäisi valoaktivoitavien liposomien sytotoksisuutta in vitro. Tutkimuksessa arvioitiin valoaktivoidun verteporfiinin aiheuttamien liposomin lipidikaksoiskalvon muutosten suuruutta hydrofiilisen kalseiinin vapautuskokeen avulla, mitä käytettiin liposomiformulaation optimoinnissa. Lisäksi tutkimuksessa selvitettiin valoaktivaation seurauksena liposomeista vapautuneen paklitakselin määrää sekä arvioitiin valoaktivoitavien paklitakseli-verteporfiiniliposomien sytotoksisuutta A549-keuhkosyöpäsolulinjalla. Tutkimuksessa osoitettiin verteporfiinin valoaktivaation lisäävän muutoksia liposomin ja solujen kalvorakenteissa valoaltistuksen keston pidentyessä. Kuitenkaan paklitakselin lisääminen verteporfiiniliposomeihin ei vaikuttanut lisäävän liposomien sytotoksisuutta A549-soluissa valoaktivaatiota käytettäessä, mutta ei myöskään ilman valoaltistusta. Paklitakselin vapautuskoe ei tutkimuksessa käytetyllä menetelmällä onnistunut, joten syytä sille, miksi sytotoksisuuseroa ei havaittu paklitakseli-verteporfiiniliposomien ja pelkkää verteporfiinia sisältävien liposomien välillä, oli vaikea arvioida. Käytetyillä valoaltisteilla ja liposomiformulaatiolla paklitakselin vapautuminen liposomeista valoaktivaation seurauksena oli kuitenkin todennäköisesti erittäin vähäistä.
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(2017)Liposomes are spherical nano-sized drug delivery systems which are composed of lipid bilayer. With liposomes drugs can be targeted for example to tumours and targeting can be passive or active. Drug release from liposomes can also be activated by different methods. Light is very promising triggering method, because it enables drug release at specific time and site. This study examined light activated indocyanine green (ICG) liposomes. Drug release from liposomes happens because ICG converts light energy to heat. ICG is clinically approved imaging agent, so ICG liposomes are very promising drug delivery systems even for clinical use. Liposomes were prepared by thin-film hydration method. One aim of the study was to prepare as small ICG-liposomes as possible. The bigger 100 nm liposomes were studied in three different formulations and the purpose was to find differences between those formulations. In formulation A ICG was in PEGs, in formulation B ICG was in lipid bilayer with no PEGs and in formulation C ICG was supposed to be in lipid bilayer although the formulation C included PEGs. In this study, the cell up take of ICG liposomes was studied with pharmacokinetic model and data from in vitro studies was supposed to use in a pharmacokinetic model. In this study, it was possible to prepare 40 nm sized ICG-liposomes. Small liposomes did not release encapsulated calsein as well as bigger 100 nm liposomes. The decreased release from smaller liposomes was probably explained by the results witch pointed out that transition temperature of small liposomes was higher than transition temperature of bigger liposomes. In the future, the lipid composition of the small liposomes need to be reoptimized, that the release would be more effective. This study however proved that small ICG-liposomes can be prepared and the small size lasts even over three months. Three different formulations of 100 nm liposomes were studied and the differences between the properties of the formulations were found. ICG in the lipid bilayer changed properties of the formulation B and the passive release of the calsein and release during the lightning were increased. In formulation C transition temperature was decreased and its storage life was lower than in other formulations. Formulation A was best for the next studies and the phospholipid composition of other formulations need to be optimated that drug release and storage life would be good enough. Intracellular release properties of liposomes were studied with Sytox red probe. Fluorescence of Sytox red increases when it binds with DNA or RNA. With this study, it was proved that liposomes release Sytox red inside the cells and that the lightning time affects to the release. The results weren't useable for pharmacokinetic model, so the model was made based by literature. Pharmacokinetic model can be used in the future studies and different in vitro or in vivo results can be combined with the model.
Now showing items 1-6 of 6