A liposome is a molecular assembly in the form of a vesicle comprised of a phospholipid bilayer. Liposomes can be used as molecular containers in various fields such as pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food industries. It is difficult to maintain the original structure of liposomes in an aqueous medium. Phospholipids, which are components of liposomes, are susceptible to hydrolysis, which causes disruption of the liposomal structure and dysfunction of the molecular container. In this context, freeze-drying liposomes is a preferable method to improve the shelf life of liposomes. However, when freeze-drying liposomes, a lyoprotective agent is required to preserve their original structure. In this study, we investigate whether alkyl sulfobetaines (SBn, n: number of carbons in the alkyl chain, n = 1-18) can be used as lyoprotectants for 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) liposomes. The results indicated that the length of the alkyl chain of the SBn was an important factor to prevent liposome disruption during the freeze-drying and subsequent rehydration processes. The use of SBn with an alkyl chain of intermediate length (n = 6-10) could prevent liposome disruption and remarkably reduce the gel-to-liquid crystal phase transition temperature (Tm) of the freeze-dried liposomes. This indicates that these SBn could intercalate in the dried bilayer and reduce intermolecular interaction between DPPC in the bilayer. The Tm reduction of the freeze-dried liposomes should contribute to prevention of the gel-to-liquid phase transition of the liposomes during the rehydration process, which has been known to be a main cause of liposome disruption. We expect that the results from this study will provide an insight into the influence of zwitterionic additives on freeze-dried lipid bilayers and the lyoprotective effect, which should be useful in many biochemical and biomedical fields.
Keywords: liposome; 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC); alkyl sulfobetaine; freeze-drying; lyoprotection.