Liposome Production by High-Pressure Extrusion Method

Seattle Genova has spent years developing liposome technologies, and our extensive experience qualifies us as experts in liposome preparation and manufacturing. Our liposome platform's goal is to provide you with high-quality liposome services ranging from custom liposome production, analysis, and characterization to application.

Service Highlights

• Varied types of liposome-based drug delivery systems

• Controlled/sustained release drug delivery system

• Pre-formulation, formulation feasibility and prototype development

• A combination of mature preparation technologies are available

• Different identification and standardization methods

• Procedure optimization (experimental design) and aseptic filtration

Liposomes are vesicles that have been created artificially and are made of phospholipids, both natural and synthetic. They are frequently used as a platform to study protein-protein and protein-lipid interactions as well as to track drug delivery and encapsulation. By spontaneously forming curved lipid bilayers, phospholipids set themselves apart from micelles. Traditional classifications of liposomes include large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs), small unilamellar vesicles (SUVs), and multilamellar vesicles based on their size and number of bilayers. For the study of membrane curvature, which is crucial for cell signaling, endo- and exocytosis, membrane fusion, and protein trafficking, homogeneous liposomes of various sizes must be prepared.

High pressure Extrusion is a a method where the liposome suspension is passed through a membrane filter of specified pore size. An extruder, a machine equipped with a pump which propels fluids through the membranes, can be utilized to achieve the extrusion process. Different parameters of the extrusion procedure such as applied pressure, number of cycles and pore size have been establish to impact the mean diameter and size distribution (polydispersity) of the liposomes produced. Besides that, a comparison of size and distribution of extruded liposomes with those prepared utilizing other size-reducing techniques (sonication, freeze-thaw sonication (FTS) and homogenization) was also conducted.

Among these, the extrusion method has a number of benefits, including producing liposomes with comparatively homogeneous size distributions, being reproducible, processing quickly, and being relatively gentle.

MLVs prepared by thin-film hydration technique are frequently passed through filters polycarbonate membranes reducing the liposome size in high-pressure extrusion procedure. The liposomes are prepared utilizing thin-film hydration method subsequently utilizing an extruder for ten cycles to receive extruded liposomes with uniform diameters.

References

1.       Mui B, Chow L, Hope MJ. Extrusion technique to generate liposomes of defined size. Methods Enzymol. 2003;367:3–14. 

2.       Hunter D.G. The Effects of Lipid Composition and Extrusion Pressure and Temperature on the Properties of Phospholipid Vesicles. Simon Fraser University; Burnaby, BC, Canada: 1997.