Versatile Encapsulation and Synthesis of Potent Therapeutic Liposomes by Thermal Equilibration

The wide-scale use of liposomal delivery systems is hampered by difficulties in obtaining potent liposomal suspensions. Passive and active loading strategies have been proposed to formulate drug encapsulated liposomes, but are limited by low efficiencies (passive) or high drug specificities (active). Here, we present an efficient and universal loading strategy for synthesizing therapeutic liposomes. Integrating a thermal equilibration technique with our unique liposome synthesis approach, co-loaded targeting liposomes can be engineered in an efficient and scalable manner with potencies 200-fold higher than typical passive encapsulation techniques. We demonstrate this capability through simultaneous co-loading of hydrophilic and hydrophobic small molecules and through targeted delivery of liposomal Doxorubicin to a metastatic breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231. Molecular dynamic simulations are used to explain interactions between Doxorubicin and liposome membrane during thermal equilibration. By addressing the existing challenges, we have developed an unparalleled approach that will facilitate the formulation of novel theranostic and pharmaceutical strategies.