SULFATED N-MYRISTOYL CHITOSAN AS A SURFACE MODIFIER OF LIPOSOMES

Sulfated N-myristoyl chitosan (S-M-chitosan), which is strongly electrolytic and water soluble as well as partly hydrophobic due to long alkyl chains, was synthesized to be used as a liposome-surface modifier. The effects of the treatment with an aqueous S-M-chitosan solution on the stability of the liposome suspension prepared from hydrogenated egg yolk lecithin were examined on several points. A suspension of large liposomes prepared by the Bangham method was precipitated by standing for a day, but the precipitation was restrained when the sample was treated with S-M-chitosan solution. The turbidity of a small liposome suspension was changed greatly after the suspension was freeze-thawed, but the change was small in the treated sample. A similar result was obtained when the suspension was freeze-dried following the addition of water. These results come from the facts that the surface of the liposome was coated with S-M-chitosan and negatively charged as ascertained by the measurement of zeta potential and the electron microscopic observation. The repulsive force between charges was considered to be the origin of the stabilization. It was also shown from an ESR experiment that the treatment suppressed the elution rate of the material incorporated into the liposomes.