The fluorination effect of fluoroamphiphiles in cytosolic protein delivery

Nat Commun. 2018 Apr 10;9(1):1377. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-03779-8.

Abstract

Direct delivery of proteins into cells avoids many drawbacks of gene delivery, and thus has emerging applications in biotherapy. However, it remains a challenging task owing to limited charges and relatively large size of proteins. Here, we report an efficient protein delivery system via the co-assembly of fluoroamphiphiles and proteins into nanoparticles. Fluorous substituents on the amphiphiles play essential roles in the formation of uniform nanoparticles, avoiding protein denaturation, efficient endocytosis, and maintaining low cytotoxicity. Structure-activity relationship studies reveal that longer fluorous chain length and higher fluorination degree contribute to more efficient protein delivery, but excess fluorophilicity on the polymer leads to the pre-assembly of fluoroamphiphiles into stable vesicles, and thus failed protein encapsulation and cytosolic delivery. This study highlights the advantage of fluoroamphiphiles over other existing strategies for intracellular protein delivery.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Alkanes / chemistry
  • Alkanes / metabolism*
  • Animals
  • Cycloparaffins / chemistry
  • Cycloparaffins / metabolism*
  • Cytosol / metabolism
  • Drug Compounding / methods
  • Drug Delivery Systems / methods*
  • Endocytosis
  • Fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate / analogs & derivatives
  • Fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate / analysis
  • HEK293 Cells
  • Halogenation
  • HeLa Cells
  • Humans
  • Kinetics
  • Mice
  • NIH 3T3 Cells
  • Nanoparticles / chemistry
  • Nanoparticles / ultrastructure
  • Peptides / chemical synthesis
  • Peptides / metabolism*
  • Serum Albumin, Bovine / analysis
  • Structure-Activity Relationship
  • Surface-Active Agents / chemistry
  • Surface-Active Agents / metabolism*

Substances

  • Alkanes
  • Cycloparaffins
  • Peptides
  • Surface-Active Agents
  • fluorescein isothiocyanate bovine serum albumin
  • Serum Albumin, Bovine
  • Fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate