Controlling the Localization of Polymer-Functionalized Nanoparticles in Mixed Lipid/Polymer Membranes

Surface hydrophobicity plays a significant role in controlling the interactions between nanoparticles and lipid membranes. In principle, a nanoparticle can be encapsulated into a liposome, either being incorporated into the hydrophobic bilayer interior or trapped within the aqueous vesicle core. In this paper, we demonstrate the preparation and characterization of polymer-functionalized CdSe NPs, tuning their interaction with mixed lipid/polymer membranes from 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phophocholine and PIB₈₇-b-PEO₁₇ block copolymer by varying their surface hydrophobicity. It is observed that hydrophobic PIB-modified CdSe NPs can be selectively located within polymer domains in a mixed lipid/polymer monolayer at the air/water interface, changing their typical domain morphologies, while amphiphilic PIB-PEO-modified CdSe NPs showed no specific localization in phase-separated lipid/polymer films. In addition, hydrophilic water-soluble CdSe NPs can readily adsorb onto spread monolayers, showing a larger effect on the molecule packing at the air/water interface in the case of pure lipid films compared to mixed monolayers. Furthermore, the incorporation of PIB-modified CdSe NPs into hybrid lipid/polymer GUVs is demonstrated with respect to the prevailing phase state of the hybrid membrane. Monitoring fluorescent-labeled PIB-CdSe NPs embedded into phase-separated vesicles, it is demonstrated that they are enriched in one specific phase, thus probing their selective incorporation into the hydrophobic portion of PIB₈₇-b-PEO₁₇ BCP-rich domains. Thus, the formation of biocompatible hybrid GUVs with selectively incorporated nanoparticles opens a new perspective for subtle engineering of membranes together with their (nano-) phase structure serving as a model system in designing functional nanomaterials for effective nanomedicine or drug delivery.