Description
General Description
DSPE-Maleimide is a thiol-reactive lipid designed for the preparation of functionalized lipid membranes and nanoparticle delivery systems. The DSPE lipid anchor consists of two saturated stearoyl (C18:0) hydrocarbon chains that provide stable insertion into lipid bilayers, liposomes, and lipid nanoparticles.
The terminal maleimide group reacts rapidly and selectively with sulfhydryl (thiol) groups on cysteine-containing proteins, peptides, antibodies, and other thiolated biomolecules under mild physiological conditions, forming stable thioether bonds. This enables efficient surface modification of liposomes and nanoparticles with targeting ligands or functional biomolecules.
DSPE-Maleimide combines the membrane stability of DSPE with selective thiol conjugation chemistry, making it highly useful for antibody-targeted liposomes, ligand-functionalized nanoparticles, biosensors, molecular imaging probes, and advanced nanomedicine applications.
Applications
- Thiol-specific bioconjugation
- Liposome functionalization
- Lipid nanoparticle (LNP) modification
- Antibody conjugation
- Peptide attachment
- Targeted drug delivery
- Molecular imaging
- Biosensor development
- Surface modification
- Biomaterials research
Features and Benefits
- Reactive maleimide functionality
- Stable DSPE lipid anchor
- Selective thiol conjugation
- Forms stable thioether bonds
- Efficient membrane incorporation
- Suitable for liposomes and LNPs
- Enables ligand attachment
- Useful for targeted delivery applications
