On the correlation between phase evolution of lipoplexes/anionic lipid mixtures and DNA release

We investigated the structural evolution of three lipoplex formulations when interacting with anionic lipids by synchrotron small angle x-ray diffraction, while the extent of DNA release from lipoplexes by anionic lipids was evaluated by gel electrophoresis. Lipoplexes formed lamellar phases when mixed with anionic dioleoylphosphatidylglycerol (DOPG), while promoting the formation of nonbilayer structures when mixed with anionic dioleoylphosphatidic acid (DOPA). However, lipoplexes exhibited a virtually identical extent of DNA release when mixed with DOPG or DOPA. Thus, the recently proposed correlation between the formation of nonlamellar phases in lipoplex/ anionic lipid mixtures and the increase of DNA release does not seem to exist