Polyelectrolyte-coated unilamellar nanometer-sized magnetic liposomes

Superparamagnetic nanoparticles were encapsulated in liposomes prior to the stepwise adsorption of polyelectrolytes of opposite charges commonly known as the layer-by-layer (LbL) technique. Magnetic fields allow a fast separation of coated liposomes from unbound polyelectrolytes. The coated particles were characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS), cryo-TEM, AFM, and zeta-potential techniques. The presence of magnetic nanoparticles and the polyelectrolyte shell opens the possibility of their magnetic manipulation and targeting by applying an external magnetic or electric field.