Sarah J. Leung

Light-Activated Content Release from Liposomes

Successful integration of diagnostic and therapeutic actions at the level of individual cells requires new materials that combine biological compatibility with functional versatility. This review focuses on the development of liposome-based functional materials, where payload release is activated by light. Methods of sensitizing liposomes to light have progressed from the use of organic molecular moieties to the use of metallic plasmon resonant structures. This development has facilitated application of near infrared light for activation, which is preferred for its deep penetration and low phototoxicity in biological tissues. Presented mechanisms of light-activated liposomal content release enable precise in vitro manipulation of minute amounts of reagents, but their use in clinical diagnostic and therapeutic applications will require demonstration of safety and efficacy.

NIR-Activated Content Release from Plasmon Resonant Liposomes for Probing Single-Cell Responses

Technological limitations have prevented the interrogation and manipulation of cellular activity in response to bioactive molecules within model and living systems that is required for the development of diagnostic and treatment modalities for diseases, such as cancer. In this work, we demonstrate that gold-coated liposomes are capable of encapsulation and on-demand release of signaling molecules with a spatial and temporal resolution leading to activation of individual cells. As a model system, we used cells modified to overexpress a certain G-protein coupled receptor, the CCK2 receptor, and achieved its activation in a single cell via the localized release of its agonist. This content release was triggered by illumination of the liposomes at wavelengths corresponding to the plasmon resonance of the gold coating. The use of plasmon resonant liposomes may enable on-demand release of a broad range of molecules using biologically safe near-infrared light and without molecule chemical modification. In combination with the spectral tunability of plasmon resonant coating, this technology may allow for multiplexed interrogation of complex and diverse signaling pathways in model or living tissues with unprecedented spatial and temporal control.

Molecular Catch and Release: Controlled Delivery Using Optical Trapping with Light‐Responsive Liposomes

Gold-coated liposomes are maneuvered using an optical trap to achieve precise delivery of encapsulated molecular cargo. Movement and payload release from these plasmon resonant nanocapsules are independently controlled using a pulsed trapping beam. This technology enables in vitro delivery of a payload to a selected cell and may be applied to the interrogation of individual cells within their biological microenvironment.

Plasmon resonant gold-coated liposomes for spectrally controlled content release

We recently demonstrated that liposome-supported plasmon resonant gold nanoshells are degradable into components of a size compatible with renal clearance, potentially enabling their use as multifunctional agents in applications in nanomedicine, including imaging, diagnostics, therapy, and drug delivery (Troutman et al., Adv. Mater. 2008, 20, 2604-2608). When illuminated with laser light at the wavelength matching their plasmon resonance band, gold-coated liposomes rapidly release their encapsulated substances, which can include therapeutic and diagnostic agents. The present research demonstrates that release of encapsulated agents from gold-coated liposomes can be spectrally controlled by varying the location of the plasmon resonance band; this spectral tuning is accomplished by varying the concentration of gold deposited on the surface of liposomes. Furthermore, the amount of laser energy required for release is qualitatively explained using the concept of thermal confinement (Jacques, Appl. Opt. 1993, 32(3), 2447-2454). Overlapping thermal confinement zones can be avoided by minimizing the laser pulse width, resulting in lower energy requirements for liposomal content release and less global heating of the sample. Control of heating is especially important in drug delivery applications, where it enables spatial and spectral control of delivery and prevents thermal damage to tissue.

Plasmon resonant gold-coated liposomes for spectrally coded content release

We have recently introduced liposome-supported plasmon resonant gold nanoshells (Troutman et al., Adv. Mater. 2008, 20, 2604-2608). These plasmon resonant gold-coated liposomes are degradable into components of a size compatible with renal clearance, potentially enabling their use as multifunctional agents in applications in nanomedicine, including imaging, diagnostics, therapy, and drug delivery. The present research demonstrates that laser illumination at the wavelength matching the plasmon resonance band of a gold-coated liposome leads to the rapid release of encapsulated substances, which can include therapeutic and diagnostic agents. Leakage of encapsulated contents is monitored through the release of self-quenched fluorescein, which provides an increase in fluorescence emission upon release. Moreover, the resonant peak of these gold-coated liposomes is spectrally tunable in the near infrared range by varying the concentration of gold deposited on the surface of liposomes. Varying the plasmon resonant wavelengths of gold-coated liposomes can provide a method for spectrally-coding their light-mediated content release, so that the release event is initiated by the specific wavelength of light used to illuminate the liposomes. The development of spectrally-coded release can find applications in controlled delivery of multiple agents to support complex diagnostic tests and therapeutic interventions.

Activation of cell signaling via optical manipulation of gold-coated liposomes encapsulating signaling molecules

Many diseases involve changes in cell signaling cascades, as seen commonly in drug resistant cancers. To better understand these intricate signaling events in diseased cells and tissues, experimental methods of probing cellular communication at a single to multi-cell level are required. We recently introduced a general platform for activation of selected signaling pathways by optically controlled delivery and release of water soluble factors using gold-coated liposomes. In the example presented here, we encapsulated inositol trisphosphate (IP3), a ubiquitous intracellular secondary messenger involved in GPCR and Akt signaling cascades, within 100 nm gold-coated liposomes. The high polarizability of the liposome’s unique gold pseudo-shell allows stable optical trapping for subcellular manipulation in the presence of cells. We take this optical manipulation further by optically injecting IP3-containing liposomes into the cytosol of a single cell to initiate localized cell signaling. Upon optical injection of liposomal IP3 into a single ovarian carcinoma cell, we observed localized activation as reported by changes in Indo-1 fluorescence intensity. With established gap junctions between the injected cell and neighboring cells, we monitored propagation of this signaling to and through nearby cells.

Single cell targeting using plasmon resonant gold-coated liposomes

We have developed an experimental system with the potential for the delivery and localized release of an encapsulated agent with high spatial and temporal resolution. We previously introduced liposome-supported plasmon resonant gold nanoshells; in this composite structure, the liposome allows for the encapsulation of substances, such as therapeutic agents, neurotransmitters, or growth factors, and the plasmon resonant structure facilitates the rapid release of encapsulated contents upon laser light illumination. More recently, we demonstrated that these gold-coated liposomes are capable of releasing their contents in a spectrally-controlled manner, where plasmon resonant nanoparticles only release content upon illumination with a wavelength of light matching their plasmon resonance band. We now show that this release mechanism can be used in a biological setting to deliver a peptide derivative of cholecystokinin to HEK293 cells overexpressing the CCK2 receptor. Using directed laser light, we may enable localized release from gold-coated liposomes to enable accurate perturbation of cellular functions in response to released compounds; this system may have possible applications in signaling pathways and drug discovery.