A combinatorial approach to producing sterically stabilized (Stealth) immunoliposomal drugs

We have developed a method for producing sterically stabilized immunoliposomal drugs (SIL) readily applicable to a ‘mix and match’ combinatorial approach for the simple manufacture of a variety of ligand-targeted liposomal drugs. Ligands coupled to the terminus of polyethylene glycol (PEG) in micelles formed from PEG-lipid derivatives (mPEG 2000-DSPE) could be transferred into preformed, drug-containing liposomes from the micelles in a temperature- and time-dependent manner. Antibody densities up to 100 μg antibody/μmol of phospholipid, and up to 3 mol% of mPEG 2000-DSPE, could be simultaneously transferred from the ligand-coupled micelles into the liposomal outer monolayer with negligible drug leakage from liposomes during transfer and good stability in human plasma. Transfer of anti-CD19 into SIL resulted in a three-fold increase in binding of these liposomes to CD19 + human B cell lymphoma cells.