Investigation of the programmed cell death by encapsulated cytoskeleton drug liposomes using a microfluidic platform

The low membrane permeability of lipophilic drugs was resolved using liposomes as a solubilizing agent and the precise size control of them is a significant parameter in drug carrier technology. Here, we have established a microfluidic octanol-assisted liposome assembly method to produce a surfactant-assisted liposome which has merged by the cytoskeleton drug (Taxotere) encapsulation in a single process step, then a complete microfluidic cellular analysis was performed in trapping cell device with an optofluidic assay for quantifying drug permeability. The optimization of process variables resulted in the formation of liposomes with particle size 6.75 +/- 0.5 mu m and monodispersity 6.2%, representing encapsulation efficiency and loading capacity of 65.49 +/- 3.08% and 10.16 +/- 0.32%, respectively. Qualitative and quantitative studies of cellular uptake in MCF-7 cell line that was cultured in the cell trapping chip indicated a significant increase in cellular uptake of carboxyfluorescein-loaded liposomes, suggesting endocytic mechanisms. The drug-loaded liposomes with an IC50 value of 0.55 +/- 0.04 mu g mL(-1) have shown a higher level of cellular inhibition and apoptosis in cells than free Taxotere (2.48 +/- 0.01). Furthermore, real-time analysis of the dynamic labeling assay for live/dead cells was investigated. Our data revealed that lab-on-a-chip platforms for the time-lapse fluorescence imaging were applied for drug screening routines.