Cellular fusion and whitening effect of a chitosan derivative coated liposome

In this study, a derivative of chitosan, N-(2-hydroxyl) propyl-3-trimethyl ammonium chitosan chloride (HTCC), was coated onto the liposomes made of cholesterol and 1,2-palmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (DPPC). These coated liposomes were loaded with kojic acid for skin whitening. The appearance of liposome was examined using transmission electron microscope (TEM), and the coating of HTCC to the liposome was confirmed by infrared spectroscopy. By labeling with Dil, the fusion of liposome with the cell membrane of L929 fibroblast and B16-F10 melanoma was improved by the coating of HTCC. Based on the results of Franz cell experiment, the penetration of kojic acid (KA) through skin was improved by using HTCC-coating liposomes. Furthermore, the cell proliferation of L929 was not affected by HTCC-coating liposomes, while that of B16-F10 was reduced slightly with the increase of the concentration of HTCC-loading liposome. The degree of skin whitening was determined based on the melanin content in B-16-F10 cells. The results showed that the level of melanin synthesis was lower when KA was delivered using HTCC-coating liposome instead of traditional liposome.

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► HTCC was coated onto liposome composed of DPPC and cholesterol.
► Coated structure was confirmed by transmission electron microscope.
► Fusion ratio of liposome with melanoma was improved by HTCC coating.
► Efficiency of kojic acid to suppress the synthesis of melanin was improved by using HTCC-coated liposome.
► HTCC-coated liposome exhibited no cytotoxicity.