Microstructure study of liposomes decorated by hydrophobic magnetic nanoparticles

Magnetoliposomes, consisting of liposomes and magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), have been tailored as very promising delivery vehicles in biotechnology and biomedicine applications. In this paper, liposomes with hydrophobic MNPs were prepared. The hydrophobic MNPs were successfully embedded in the lipid bilayer, which was proved by the results obtained from transmission electron microscope, atomic force microscope, differential scanning calorimetry and steady state fluorescence measurements. Moreover, systematic researches were carried out to investigate the effects of hydrophobic MNPs concentration on the morphology and microstructure of liposomes. The results show that the lipid bilayer was saturated with the hydrophobic MNPs when the mass ratio of MNPs to lipid reached 0.002.