Synthesis of triphenylphosphonium phospholipid conjugates for the preparation of mitochondriotropic liposomes

• Published in: Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) Vol. 1265; p. 51
• Main Authors: Benien, Parul, Benein, Parul, Almuteri, Mohammed A, Mehanna, Ahmed S, D'Souza, Gerard G M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 2015
• Subjects: Liposomes - chemistry; Mitochondria - metabolism; Organophosphorus Compounds - chemical synthesis; Organophosphorus Compounds - chemistry; Organophosphorus Compounds - isolation & purification; Phospholipids - chemical synthesis; Phospholipids - chemistry; Phospholipids - isolation & purification; Solvents
• ISSN: 1940-6029
• DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-2288-8_4

Surface modification of liposomes with a ligand is facilitated by the conjugation of the ligand to a hydrophobic molecule that serves to anchor the ligand to the liposomal bilayer. We describe here a simple protocol to conjugate a triphenylphosphonium group to several commercially available functionalized phospholipids. The resulting triphenylphosphonium conjugated lipids can be used to prepare liposomes that preferentially associate with mitochondria when exposed to live mammalian cells in culture.