Physical-chemical properties of DPPC liposomes in the presence of gold nanoparticles aggregates

Liposomes are lipid-based spherical structures that are, due to lipid amphiphilic character, arranged as bilayers with lipid hydrophobic tails oriented towards each other and a hydrophilic head towards aqueous surroundings. Because of their nontoxicity and biodegradability they represent powerful and efficient delivery drug systems. Nanoscience is the study of structures and molecules on the scales of nanometers ranging between 1 and 100 nm and represents an expanding and prominent research area. Metal nanoparticles (NPs), particularly those made of gold (Au NPs), attract great interest due to their stability, biocompatibility and unique catalytic activity. The interaction of Au NPs and liposomes came into research focus due to their diverse purpose in application, especially in nano- and biotechnology. Up to now, the understanding the interaction of liposomes and gold nanoparticles has gained great importance due to the possibilities that their combination can be used as potential drug delivery systems. [3] Here, we examined the influence of Au NPS aggregates on thermotropic properties of liposomes prepared from 1, 2-dipalmitoyl-snglycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC). In order to reach this goal, our experimental work included synthesis of Au NPs, surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) measurement (Fig. 1a), confocal microscope imaging (Fig. 1b), temperature-dependent UV-Vis spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).