Chitosan is a polysaccharide that has shown promise in liposomal drug delivery because of certain desirable properties such as muco-adhesivity, biodegradability and low toxicity. In this study, chitosan-bearing 1-stearoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine giant unilamellar vesicles were prepared using inverse phase precursor method to measure their mechanical and transport properties. We show that while an increase in chitosan: lipid molar ratio in the vesicle bilayer at pH 7 led to a substantial increase in its bending modulus, chitosan-mediated change in bending modulus was diminished at pH 4.5. Water permeability across the vesicle bilayer, as well as phospholipid diffusivity within supported lipid bilayers, were also found to decrease with increasing chitosan: lipid molar ratio. Together, these findings demonstrate that incorporation of chitosan in phospholipid bilayers modulates the mechanical and transport properties of liposomes which may affect their in vivo circulation time and drug release rate.

中文翻译：

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壳聚糖-两性离子磷脂囊泡的机械和运输性质。

壳聚糖是一种多糖，由于某些理想的特性（如粘膜粘附性，生物降解性和低毒性）而在脂质体药物的输送中显示出了希望。在这项研究中，使用反相前驱体方法制备了带有壳聚糖的1-硬脂酰基-2-油酰基-sn-甘油-3-磷酸胆碱大单层囊泡，以测量其机械性能和运输性能。我们显示，虽然在pH 7时囊泡双层中壳聚糖：脂质摩尔比的增加导致其弯曲模量大幅增加，但在pH 4.5时，壳聚糖介导的弯曲模量变化却减小了。还发现，随着壳聚糖：脂质摩尔比的增加，跨囊泡双层的水渗透性以及支持的脂质双层内的磷脂扩散性降低。一起，