Among drug delivery systems, catanionic vesicles now appear as powerful candidates for pharmaceutical applications because they are relatively cheap and easy to use, thus well corresponding to industrial requirements. Using labelled vesicles made of a tricatenar catanionic surfactant, the work reported here aims at exploring the mechanisms by which internalisation into a cell occurs. The study was performed on various cell types such as phagocytic as well as non-phagocytic cells using confocal laser scanning microscopy and flow cytometry. Using various inhibitors, endocytosis and also a passive process, as probably fusion, were highlighted as interaction phenomena between catanionic vesicles and cell membranes. Finally, the interaction modelled with giant liposomes as membrane models confirmed the hypothesis of the occurrence of a fusion phenomenon between the nanovectors and cell membranes. This process highlights the potential of catanionic vesicles for a future pharmaceutical application as a universal drug delivery system.
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