DRUG-LADEN LIPOSOMES IN ANTITUMOR THERAPY AND IN THE TREATMENT OF PARASITIC DISEASES

To fully understand the potential and limitations of drug-laden liposomes in therapy, it is necessary to have information available on the behaviour of both drug and liposome in the body after administration. For two cytostatics (doxorubicin and cisplatin) the effect of liposome encapsulation on the therapeutic index was studied in tumor-bearing rats. Data were collected on the fate of liposome and drug in the rats. Analysis of these data provided a possible explanation for the observation that liposome encapsulation increased the therapeutic index for doxorubicin, but not for cisplatin. In the second part of this article the beneficial effect of liposome encapsulation of chloroquine (CQ) on the treatment and prophylaxis of murine malaria is demonstrated. This effect could be ascribed to sustained release of CQ from the intraperitoneally injected liposomes. Finally, examples of successful drug targeting with CQ containing immunoliposomes, or successive administration of antibodies and CQ containing liposomes, in a murine malaria model are presented. © 1990.