Poly-L-arginine-hydroxyapatite nanoparticle complexes translocate through lipid bilayer membranes.

Certain molecules, which are able to directly translocate across phospholipid bilayer membranes (cell or endosormal membrane), can be useful as carriers (vectors) for drags (especially polymeric drags). We have studied the translocationability of the hydroxyapatite nanoparticle-poly-L-arginine complex through the negatively charged phospholipid bilayer membranes by using several instruments. It was confirmed by means of a confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) not only the fact that the complex can translocate through the membranes but also the fact that the complexes were still retained in the inner water layer of the liposome even after the translocation.