The Nanoscale "Matryoshka Doll" Structure Could Enable the Release of Two Drugs at Different Times

Researchers at Imperial College London have developed a technology that forms liposomes with nested compartments, resembling matryoshka dolls. This new technology allows for much greater control over drug delivery by delivering two drugs simultaneously or at different times. The technology, which scientists have named "concentrosomes," consists of double-layered lipid membranes, with outer and inner layers, and is approximately 200 nanometers in diameter.

The compartmentalized nanoparticles can be adjusted to exhibit enhanced properties. In their experiments, the researchers showed that the inner and outer concentrosome membranes could hold different drug loads by designing one layer to be temperature-sensitive while the other was not. They exposed the concentrosomes to a low temperature, causing the outer membrane to release its load; subsequent exposure to a higher temperature triggered the release of the inner membrane’s load. Even more impressively, the researchers demonstrated the ability to design concentrosomes to synthesize new biochemicals within themselves, triggered by an increase in temperature.

According to the research team, the ability to deliver two drugs either simultaneously or at different time points has the potential to revolutionize combination therapies or the use of multiple drugs to treat a single disease. The drug delivery technology is currently in the proof-of-concept stage and has not been tested in living organisms. To translate these promising initial findings into practical applications, future research will need to explore increasing the architectural complexity of concentrosomes and using different loads, such as genetic material.

Referance: Pilkington, C.P., Gispert, I., Chui, S.Y. et al. Engineering a nanoscale liposome-in-liposome for in situ biochemical synthesis and multi-stage release. Nat. Chem. (2024).