Tripolar Bolalipids as Key Components of Sustained-Release Drug Delivery Systems.

Controlling passive diffusion through an amphiphilic membrane is a key factor for the development of future smart generations of drug delivery systems. It also plays a crucial role in understanding fundamental biological systems through the design of new artificial cell models. We report herein a new concept of bolalipids designed as key components for the control of the membrane's permeability.

Design of light-responsive amphiphilic self-assemblies: A novel application of the photosensitive diazirine moiety.

Diazirine is one of the smallest photo-sensitive moieties discovered to date. When incorporated in the structure of phospholipids, its minimal size has a low impact on the morphology of the resultant liposomes. A DMPC-diazirine analogue was designed and subsequently used to generate liposomes with a lower permeability and a lower phase-transition temperature compared to control DMPC liposomes.

Enhancing the photosensitizing activity of natural flavins: Tuning the heavy-atom effect in the isoalloxazine series.

Structure-photosensitizing activity relationships for a series of flavin analogues were investigated with the final goal of identifying the most potent photosensitizer in these series. The main structural modifications involved the introduction of various halogen atoms in C- and/or C-positions on the isoalloxazine ring. These compounds were synthesized by reacting judiciously-functionalized anilines with alloxan.

Investigating the photosensitization activities of flavins irradiated by blue LEDs.

Due to their ability to easily absorb light and to generate highly reactive species, photosensitizers emerged as promising tools in a wide variety of physico-chemical and biological processes. Natural photosensitizers have the benefit of a life-compatible toxicological profile. Porphyrins and flavins are such examples that already proved their efficiency as photo-dynamic therapeutics.

Flavin-Conjugated Nanobombs: Key Structural Requirements Governing Their Self-Assemblies' Morphologies.

In contrast to artificial molecules, natural photosensitizers have the benefit of excellent toxicity profiles and of life-compatible activating energy ranges. Flavins are such photosensitizers that were selected by nature in a plethora of light-triggered biochemical reactions. Flavin-rich nanoparticles could thus emerge as promising tools in photodynamic therapies and in active-targeting drug delivery.