Lyophilizable Stem Cell-Hybrid Liposome with Long-Term Stability and High Targeting Capacity.

The hybridization of liposome with stem cell membrane is an emerging technology to prepare the nanovehicle with the capacity of disease-responsive targeting. However, the long-term storage of this hybrid liposome has received limited attention in the literature, which is essential for their potential applicability in the clinic. Therefore, the preservation of long-term activity of stem cell-hybrid liposome using freeze-drying is investigated in the present study. Mesenchymal stem cell-hybrid liposome is synthesized and its feasibility for freeze-drying under different conditions is examined. Results revealed that pre-freezing the hybrid liposome at -20 °C in Tris buffer solution (pH 7.4) containing 10% trehalose could well preserve the liposomal structure for at least 3 months. Notably, major membrane proteins on the hybrid liposome are protected in this formulation and CXCR4-associated targeting capacity is maintained both in vitro and in vivo. Consequently, the hybrid liposome stored for 3 months demonstrate a comparable tumor inhibition as the fresh-prepared ones. The present study provides the first insights into the long-term storage of stem cell hybrid liposome using lyophilization, which may make an important step forward in enhancing the long-term stability of these promising biomimetic nanovehicle and ease the logistics and the freeze-storage in the potential clinical applications. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.