Ultrasound enhances liposome-mediated gene transfection

Previous studies have shown that some series of liposomes, usually containing cationic lipids, are useful tools for gene introduction into cells. To investigate the effect of ultrasound (US) on liposome-mediated transfection, three types of liposomes (designated L1, L2 and L3, in the order of increasing transfection efficiency) containing O,O′-ditetradecanoyl-N-(α-trimethylammonioacetyl) diethanolamine chloride, dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine, and/or cholesterol at varying ratios, were used in this study. HeLa cells were treated with liposome–DNA complexes containing luciferase genes for 2 h before sonication. Optimal US condition for the enhancement was determined to be 0.5 W/cm2, 1 MHz continuous wave for 1 min and was above threshold for inertial cavitation based on EPR detection of free radicals. Luciferase expressions 24 h after the treatments were significantly increased by sonication to 2.4 fold with L1, and 1.7 fold with L2. However, with L3, which showed the highest level of expression among the liposomes, significant but minimal enhancement was observed when sonication was done 15 min after the DNA-L3 treatment, suggesting that efficiency of the liposome also determines the proper timing for sonication. The 2 h pre-sonication incubation with liposome–DNA complexes for L1 and L2 (30 min for L3) required to attain enhancement, suggests that US works to enhance transfection only after cells had enough DNA uptake.