Catanionic surfactant vesicles composed of sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS) and cetyltrimethylammonium tosylate (CTAT) are soft, spherical nanomaterials that have potential as targeted drug delivery systems. SDBS/CTAT vesicles are able to hold a drug payload and their surfaces can be functionalized with targeting molecules that direct the vesicles to specific cells. Antibodies can be used as targeting molecules in drug delivery systems. In the study described here, methods to attach proteins to the surface of SDBS/CTAT vesicles were evaluated. Acid phosphatase from wheat germ was used as a model protein. Functionalizing the surface of vesicles with an amine- or thiol-reactive moiety and then conjugating acid phosphatase to the functionalized vesicles was determined to be the most effective strategy. Functionalizing vesicles with amine- or thiol-reactive groups was accomplished using a bifunctional linker that was synthesized from Triton X-100. The Triton-X 100 derivative was prepared in a single step and contains an unsaturated ester. Vesicles that were functionalized with the esterified Triton-X 100 derivative and mixed with acid phosphatase contained 32 ± 10 mg/mL of acid phosphatase after purification. Results from an acid phosphatase assay indicated that 16 ± 3% of the attached protein remained functional. Vesicle samples were also analyzed by dynamic light scattering (DLS). Results from the DLS analyses correlated with the protein functionalization studies. Vesicles that had protein associated with them had larger diameters than samples that did not contain protein.

Progress toward creating catanionic vesicle-based drug delivery systems: Evaluating methods to create protein functionalized catanionic vesicles

ACS Spring 2022

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