Fig. 3: Bottom-up approach for drug encapsulation in cubosome.
From: Fusogenic lipid nanoparticles for rapid delivery of large therapeutic molecules to exosomes
a Bottom-up strategy of drug encapsulation in cubosome using a microfluidic mixer. Drug-encapsulating droplets are fused to form a cubosome during the annealing process. b Encapsulation efficiency in cubosome for three different types of drugs; doxorubicin, immunoglobulin G, and mRNA. Data are presented as mean ± SE, n = 3. c–e Fluorescence optical microscope images showing mRNA loaded cubosomes. Cubosomes were labeled by Texas Red c, mRNAs were labeled by FAM d. Merged images of cubosome and mRNA e show yellow particles indicating co-localization of mRNA and cubosome. f DLS results for cubosome and mRNA-cubosome, showing the decrease of particle size upon mRNA encapsulation. g 1D and 2D SAXS scan results of cubosome and mRNA-cubosome samples, showing an mRNA specific peak that is only observed in mRNA-cubosome sample. h Cryo-TEM image of mRNA-cubosome showing the uniform size distribution and well-ordered internal structure as seen in SAXS and DLS studies. i Illustration of cubosome and mRNA conformation (folding degree is defined as domain size / mRNA d-spacing) in cubosome. j Unit cell size of cubosome and mRNA folding degree were maintained even after storing for 3 weeks at room temperature. k Optical images of mRNA-cubosome solution after 0 day and 3 weeks at room temperature.
