(741e) Synthesis of Designer Lipids Using "Click" Chemistries

            Liposomes
have great potential in the fields of drug delivery, imaging and in simplified
cell membrane studies.  However, to achieve
their full potential in these applications, it frequently becomes necessary to
incorporate synthetic constructs and new functionalities into the membrane
architecture.  We have created a
simplified method for incorporation of functional groups of interest into the
phospholipid structure through the covalent attachment of a second aliphatic
tail onto a lysolipid backbone. 
This addition is now possible through the Copper-catalyzed Azide-Alkyne
Cycloaddition (CuAAC), thiol-acrylate and/or thiol-Michael reactions using
lysolipids functionalized with an alkyne, thiol, or acrylate group,
respectively.  This wide range of
chemistries enables more simplified synthesis of lipids containing variable chemical
moieties and enables the covalent attachment of these functionalized tails
using a range of catalysts.  In the
end, this approach will ease the testing of liposome systems containing new
behaviors and characteristics.