The Synthesis and characteristic study of transferrin-conjugated liposomes carrying brain-derived neurotrophic factor

This study aimed to establish a novel non-viral liposome vector delivering brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) through the blood brain barrier. For this purpose, different water-oil ratios were tested to create liposomes for packaging the prophase synthesized plasmids encoding the BDNF proteins. In order to increase the targeted and peripheral circulation time, we connected the liposomes with transferrin (Tf) and a polyethylene glycol (PEG) long chain. The non-isotope method was used to measure the liposome envelopment ratio and ligand-binding ratio, and also to detect molecular biological features, such as particle size and stability. Tf-conjugated liposomes could be synthesized satisfactorily under the following conditions: the ratio of phospholipid to cholesterol was 1:1; the ratio of enter to plasmid was 100:1; oil phase was dichloromethane; the oil to water ratio was 4:1; the rotary evaporation temperature was 30 °C; the ultrasonic temperature was 10 °C; the ultrasonic time was 10 min; and 10% trehalose was in the presence. Generated liposomes had a uniform circular shape and particle size distribution. In this experiment, we successfully established a new type of Tf-conjugated liposomes carrying the gene of BDNF and the study provides an experimental basis for the future.