Use of a passive equilibration methodology to encapsulate cisplatin into preformed thermosensitive liposomes

Abstract

A conventional, cholesterol-containing liposome formulation of cisplatin has demonstrated insignificant activity in clinical trials, due in part, to insufficient release of encapsulated content following localization within solid tumors. For this reason, the development of a triggered release liposome formulation is desirable. In this report, cisplatin was encapsulated into lysolipid-containing thermosensitive liposomes (LTSL) using a novel technique, which relies on the equilibration of cisplatin across the liposomal membrane at temperatures above the gel-to-liquid crystalline phase transition temperature (TC) of the bulk phospholipid. Mild heating and drug loading into LTSL did not induce morphological changes of the liposomes. In vitro data demonstrated that >95% of encapsulated cisplatin was released from LTSL within 5 min following mild heating at 42 °C, while