Investigations into the use of liposomes as a potential drug carrier may offer a promising solution to overcoming low bioavailability.
Adaptability is the key advantage associated with liposomes for drug delivery.
In preparation of the desired liposomes, high pressure homogenisation (HPH) is often performed on pre-formed liposomes, such as multilamellar vesicles (MLVs) to produce small unilamellar vesicles (SUVs).
The HPH process subjects the MLVs to ultra-high pressures by forcing material passage through a narrow orifice. Stress parameters such as shear, cavitation and turbulence rupture the particles, which then immediately reform as smaller, unilamellar vesicles.
High pressure homogenisation has the capability to load liposomes with drugs, allowing for a streamlined process.
Generally, the higher the induced pressure on the sample, the smaller the resulting particles will be. Additionally, the number of cycles/passes through the system can influence particle size and size distribution.
Avestin’s range of high pressure homogenisers, from benchtop to production scale, allow for the combination of high pressure homogenisation and extrusion, which can further reduce the number of cycles required to achieve a desired size distribution, making the complete process impressively efficient.
These combined systems are ideal for a wide range of sample sizes, from hundreds of millilitres to hundreds of litres and the automated manner of extrusion, with available temperature control, ensures a great degree of scalability.
For smaller applications, Avestin offer the hand-held LiposoFast Basic (LF-1) extruder system, which has a 0.5 ml to 1.0 ml capacity. Additionally, the automated LF-50 (5-50 ml capacity) extruder system is available for applications of higher throughput.
