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Two new N(a),N(b)-Bis[3-(trimethylamino)propyl]-perfluoroalkanes diamide-Iodide with (a=1; b=10) and (a=1; b=12), differing by the fluorocarbon tail spacer (8 or 10 CF2), and the N(1),N(12)-Bis[3-(trimethylamino)propyl]-dodecanediamide-Iodide have been synthesized in two steps involving the appropriate dimethyl perfluoro or hydrogeno alkane dicarboxylate, N,N-dimethyl-1,3-propane diamine, and methyl iodide. Their surface properties were studied at 45°C in aqueous solutions using conductivity, surface tension, and dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements. A comparison of the micellar parameters usually obtained by these techniques has been carried out. The critical micelle concentrations (CMCs), the geometric packing parameters, the surface excess concentration, the area/surfactant molecule at the interface, the micellar ionization degree ß and the free energies of micellization, the diffusion coefficient, and the hydrodynamic diameter were discussed. The effect of added KI on these parameters and on the size and on the kind of aggregates has been also investigated. The addition of 1,2-Dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (DOPE) to the surfactant solutions, where the size of the complex DOPE-surfactant was determined by DLS over a wide range of concentrations, reveals a very different behavior comparing fluorinated and hydrogenated compounds.

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Structural modifications of unsaturated sodium carboxylate surfactants in terms of trifluoromethylation associated with the hydrocarbon chain length have been studied, the synthesis is described, and aggregation properties have been examined by conductimetry and vapor pressure osmometry between 30°C and 45°C. No strong effect of adding a CF3 group was observed on the Critical Micellar Concentrations. However, the thermodynamic study shows the specific effect exerted by the CF3 group through the enhancement of the entropic contribution.

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A new series of N-[3-(trimethylamino)propyl]-perfluoro-N-glucosyl amide-Iodides, differing by the length of the fluorocarbon tail (7, 9, and 11), have been synthesized in three steps involving unprotected glucose, N,N-dimethyl-1,3-propane diamine, the appropriate methyl-perfluoroalcanoate, and methyl iodide. Their aggregation and surface properties were studied in aqueous solution using conductivity, surface tension, and dynamic light scattering measurements. The critical micelle concentrations (CMC), the micellar aggregation numbers, the geometric packing parameters, the area/surfactant molecule at the interface, the surface excess concentration, the micellar ionization degree ß, and the free energies of micellization have been investigated. DLS results show various morphologies of aggregates such as micelles and vesicles according to the increase in the hydrophobic chain length.

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In order to promote siRNA transfer in tumour cells, we used an original cationic lipid, synthesized in our laboratory, dimethyl-hydroxyethyl-aminopropane-carbamoyl-cholesterol (DMHAPC-Chol). Liposomes were prepared from this lipid and dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE) in equimolar proportion. Its transfecting capacity was evaluated using ELISA, cell cytometry, and RT-PCR in estimating the silencing effect of VEGF siRNA. This liposome efficiently delivered VEGF siRNA in two human cancer cell lines abundantly secreting VEGF, A431 and MDA-MB-231. Results showed that 50 nM of VEGF siRNA carried by DMHAPC-Chol/DOPE liposomes already silenced more than 90% of VEGF in these cells. A comparative study with two commercial carriers indicated that the inhibition induced by VEGF siRNA transported by cationic DMHAPC-Chol/DOPE liposomes was comparable to that induced by INTERFERin and better than lipofectamine 2000. Moreover, a transfection by a GFP plasmid followed by a GFP siRNA showed that DMHAPC-Chol/DOPE liposomes compared to lipofectamine were less efficient for plasmid but better for siRNA transport. Following one of our previous works concerning cell delivery of plasmid ( Percot et al., 2004 ), the main interest of results presented here resides in the double potential of DMHAPC-Chol/DOPE liposomes to deliver little-sized siRNA as well as large nucleic acids in cells.

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In this paper, liposomes containing a lipopeptide bearing a ligand specifically recognized by neuropilin-1 (NRP-1) have been used to target a human breast cancer cell line overexpressing this receptor. The synthesis of this lipopeptide, C16-A7R, formed by the sequence of 7 amino acids ATWLPPR, linked to a palmitoyl fatty chain by an amide bond was described. After the characterisation of cationic liposomes formulated with the lipopeptide, the results obtained using various techniques showed that the lipopeptide-based liposomes were well accumulated in cells of the human breast cancer line MDA-MB-231 overexpressing NRP-1. Delivery of reporter genes expressing either beta-galactosidase (beta-gal) or green fluorescent protein (GFP) was selectively enhanced in these cells when compared with NRP-1-negative cells. In MDA-MB-231 cells, an increase by 250% in beta-gal activity was observed when delivered by lipopeptide-based liposomes compared to cationic liposomes alone.

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We investigated by transmission electron microscopy the cellular route in tumor MCF7 cells of DNA labeled with digoxigenin, carried by cationic liposomes (Lip+) prepared from TMAEC-Chol [3 beta(N-(N',N',N'-trimethylaminoethane)-carbamoyl)cholesterol iodide] and TEAPC-Chol [3 beta(N-(N',N',N'-triethylaminopropane)-carbamoyl)cholesterol iodide], two cholesterol-based cationic lipids containing a quaternary ammonium. In a previous work we showed the pathway of cationic lipid/plasmid complexes from the beginning of endocytosis until their entry into the perinuclear area. Beyond this limit, unlabeled exogenous plasmids cannot be distinguished with nuclear DNA. This work dealt with the cellular fate of cationic liposome-vectorized plasmids labeled with digoxigenin using an immunogold procedure. Early after the beginning of transfection (30 min, 1 hr, 5 hr), gold particles were observed only in the cytoplasm and in endosome-like vesicles, whereas after 24 hr gold particles were densely present in the nucleus. These results demonstrate the nuclear localization of plasmids vectorized by the cationic liposomes used. The results are discussed in comparison with transfection efficiency measurements.

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The determination of chemiluminescent intensity of reporter gene expression in vivo is generally disturbed by the presence of hemoglobin. Current methods consist in using perfusion to eliminate blood from investigated tumors or organs. In this work we propose a simple method to overcome this difficulty. The method consists in establishing an absorbance-dependence plot of the ratio R% = phi/phi(0) between the chemiluminescent intensities measured when hemoglobin is present or absent. For every measurement of the luminescent intensity phi on sample containing blood, if the absorbance A of the hemoglobin is determined, it allows one to have the intensity ratio R% which in turn gives the corrected intensity phi(0) when the absorption by hemoglobin is eliminated. The method is particularly adapted for comparative measurements of transfection levels in tumors where perfusion cannot be easily performed.

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The micellization and adsorption of two short chain perfluorodiols 3,3,4,4,5,5,6,6,6-nonafluorohexane-1,2-diol (nFHD) and 3,3,4,4,5,5,6,6,7,7,8,8,8-tridecafluorooctane-1,2-diol (tFOD) are examined from a thermodynamic point of view as a function of temperature and methanol content. The microenvironment of the fluorinated aggregates is evaluated by the fluorescence probe method using pyrene and a molecular rotor 1,1-dicyano-4-p-dimethylaminophenyl)-1,3-butadiene (DMAPhC). The formation of micellar aggregates being evidenced, the results are discussed in terms of the polarity and of the cohesion behavior of the micellar aggregates by taking into account the methanol (MeOH) effect. The critical micellization concentrations thus determined are compared with those given by surface tension measurements. Micellar and adsorption thermodynamic parameters such as Gibbs free energies, enthalpies, and entropies are determined together with the surface areas. The results are compared with literature data and discussed. A model for describing the adsorption process of the fluorinated compounds upon the influence of methanol is finally proposed. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.