Nanocomplex based on biocompatible phospholipids and albumin for long-circulation applications

Achieving long circulating delivery of nanoparticles (NPs) is important for efficient drug therapy, but it is difficult due largely to proteins adsorption (opsonization) or/and nonsufficient stability of NPs. In this present work, we aimed to address the above issues by constructing a phospholipid and BSA-based nanocomplex system, namely BSA-phospholipid NPs (BSA-PL-NPs). Combining sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and proteins adsorption property, we confirmed that some BSA molecules were fixed on the inner surface of BSA-PL-NPs via hydrophobic interactions and the others were located in the core area. This special configuration allowed BSA-PL-NPs to not only maintain the antiadsorption and low phagocytosis properties but also have the slow zero-order drug release and the enhanced nanostructure stability. Interestingly, we found that BSA-PL-NPs had no cytotoxicity to mouse L929 fibroblasts but could stimulate the cells' growth instead. In conclusion, BSA-PL-NPs have a great potential to be developed as a long-circulation drug delivery system, and the ready availability, biocompatibility and nontoxicity of phospholipids and albumin give this system great promise for practical use.