ABSTRACT
Aptamers have been combined with a wide variety of nanoparticles: metals, metal oxide and silica nanoparticles, lipid-based structures, polymers, nanorods and nanotubes, nanoshells, and dendrimers. The versatility of liposomes in drug delivery combined with the high target selectivity of aptamers opens up new possibilities for highly efficient and selective treatment of many diseases, most of all, many types of cancer. A convenient approach for membrane anchor attachment is the incorporation at an early stage during aptamer synthesis. The lipid–aptamer conjugates were investigated without liposomes in order to reveal the influence of various spacer units and the lipid moiety. Formulation of liposome–aptamer conjugates was done by extrusion of a lipid film rehydrated with an aptamer solution and either calcein as fluorescent dye or cisplatin for drug delivery yielding conjugates of approx. The aptamers were functionalized with an amino group for coupling to the 10,12-tricosadiynoic acid membrane anchor.
