Light-induced disruptive liposomes for drug delivery developed by Okayama and Hokkaido Universities

Nanocapsules (liposomes, polymers, etc.) are used in drug delivery to deliver the appropriate amount of drug at the targeted time and place at the site of action. These must be unbreakable outside the site of action and release their contents only at the site of action. In other words, scientists are in the difficult pursuit of something being unbreakable and fragile at the same time.

Professor Yuki Sudo and Graduate Student Taichi Tsuneishi of the Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Okayama University in collaboration with Professor Yuma Yamada of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Hokkaido University have developed liposomes that rupture with the help of green light using the photoreceptor protein rhodopsin and have shown that they can be used for drug delivery. The research has been published in Chemical Communications.

The collaborative research group focused on RmXeR, a photoreceptor protein that captures hydrogen ions under green light, and pH-responsive liposomes, which change their structure depending on the pH value.

The combination of the two revealed that green light activates RmXeR, thereby causing hydrogen ions to flow into liposomes, disrupting liposomes by phase transition in response to changes in pH, and releasing internal inclusions. They named it light-induced disruption liposome (LiDL). In addition, they have shown that the LiDL functions not only in vitro but also in human cells and that the inner shell is interchangeable; thus, demonstrating its utility in drug delivery.

Sudo commented, "Let's solve the world's 'dilemmas' to realize a better society. I would like to express my appreciation and gratitude to Mr. Taichi Tsuneishi, who worked tirelessly on the experiment while traveling back and forth between Okayama and Hokkaido."

Journal Information
Publication: Chemical Communications
Title: Development of light-induced disruptive liposomes (LiDL) as a photoswitchable carrier for intracellular substance delivery
DOI: 10.1039/D3CC02056H