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In vitro imaging of Raji B cells with fluorescent and biocompatible lipidic cubosomes

Fornasier, Marco LU orcid ; Junghans, Victoria LU ; Schillén, Karin LU orcid ; Nylander, Tommy LU ; Teràn, José Campos LU ; Wurm, Frederik R. ; Jönsson, Peter LU orcid and Murgia, Sergio (2025) In European Polymer Journal 235.
Abstract

The ability to image specific areas of the body is crucial for developing novel, non-invasive medical approaches. Nanocarriers designed for this purpose should have minimal cytotoxicity to accurately reveal internalization mechanism while also allowing for tunable localization within the cells through compositional adjustments. Cubosomes have been widely studied as carriers for imaging agents. However, the block copolymers traditionally used as steric stabilizers, namely Pluronics, raise biocompatibility concerns. Our group already demonstrated that polyphosphoester (PPE)-based stabilizers enhance the biocompatibility of monoolein compared to conventional block copolymers. Here, we further explored the colloidal and biological... (More)

The ability to image specific areas of the body is crucial for developing novel, non-invasive medical approaches. Nanocarriers designed for this purpose should have minimal cytotoxicity to accurately reveal internalization mechanism while also allowing for tunable localization within the cells through compositional adjustments. Cubosomes have been widely studied as carriers for imaging agents. However, the block copolymers traditionally used as steric stabilizers, namely Pluronics, raise biocompatibility concerns. Our group already demonstrated that polyphosphoester (PPE)-based stabilizers enhance the biocompatibility of monoolein compared to conventional block copolymers. Here, we further explored the colloidal and biological properties of PPE-stabilized cubosomes relative to conventional cubosomes formulated with Pluronic F127. For this purpose, we encapsulated a fluorescent dye suitable for in vitro imaging. Physicochemical characterization confirmed that both formulations retain their structure and morphology after the dye encapsulation, but the colloidal stability of the PPE-stabilized cubosomes was higher in a biological medium. Moreover, cytotoxicity assessment on Raji B cells, a model of white blood cells, demonstrated that the new formulation offers improved biocompatibility. Importantly, this study also revealed that the internalization process remains unaffected by the choice of stabilizer, with both types of cubosomes distributing homogenously within the Raji B cells.

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author
; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Bio-imaging, Cubosomes, Fluorescence, Lipid nanoparticles, Nanostructure, Polyphosphoester, Stabilizer
in
European Polymer Journal
volume
235
article number
114078
pages
9 pages
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:105008682343
ISSN
0014-3057
DOI
10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2025.114078
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s)
id
19dea210-912e-4d0a-a693-ec1866570157
date added to LUP
2025-09-20 16:35:50
date last changed
2025-10-14 11:10:37
@article{19dea210-912e-4d0a-a693-ec1866570157,
  abstract     = {{<p>The ability to image specific areas of the body is crucial for developing novel, non-invasive medical approaches. Nanocarriers designed for this purpose should have minimal cytotoxicity to accurately reveal internalization mechanism while also allowing for tunable localization within the cells through compositional adjustments. Cubosomes have been widely studied as carriers for imaging agents. However, the block copolymers traditionally used as steric stabilizers, namely Pluronics, raise biocompatibility concerns. Our group already demonstrated that polyphosphoester (PPE)-based stabilizers enhance the biocompatibility of monoolein compared to conventional block copolymers. Here, we further explored the colloidal and biological properties of PPE-stabilized cubosomes relative to conventional cubosomes formulated with Pluronic F127. For this purpose, we encapsulated a fluorescent dye suitable for in vitro imaging. Physicochemical characterization confirmed that both formulations retain their structure and morphology after the dye encapsulation, but the colloidal stability of the PPE-stabilized cubosomes was higher in a biological medium. Moreover, cytotoxicity assessment on Raji B cells, a model of white blood cells, demonstrated that the new formulation offers improved biocompatibility. Importantly, this study also revealed that the internalization process remains unaffected by the choice of stabilizer, with both types of cubosomes distributing homogenously within the Raji B cells.</p>}},
  author       = {{Fornasier, Marco and Junghans, Victoria and Schillén, Karin and Nylander, Tommy and Teràn, José Campos and Wurm, Frederik R. and Jönsson, Peter and Murgia, Sergio}},
  issn         = {{0014-3057}},
  keywords     = {{Bio-imaging; Cubosomes; Fluorescence; Lipid nanoparticles; Nanostructure; Polyphosphoester; Stabilizer}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{07}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{European Polymer Journal}},
  title        = {{<i>In vitro</i> imaging of Raji B cells with fluorescent and biocompatible lipidic cubosomes}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2025.114078}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2025.114078}},
  volume       = {{235}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}