Kinetics and prophylactic efficacy of increasing dosages of liposome-encapsulated chloroquine after intramuscular injection into mice

Residues of veterinary drugs at injection sites

Residues of veterinary drugs have potential implications for human food safety and international trade in animal-derived food commodities. A particular concern is the slow depletion of residues of some injectable formulations from the site of administration. Licensing authorities have adopted different approaches to the human food safety assessment of injection site residues. European agencies apply the maximum residue limit (MRL) for muscle to muscle at the injection site and specify a withdrawal period sufficient to ensure the ingestion of a 300 g portion of muscle, if comprised entirely of injection site tissue, does not exceed the acceptable daily intake. The agencies in Australia, Canada and the USA also exclude injection site residues from the MRL-setting process. These agencies evaluate the risk to consumers posed by potential acute manifestations resulting from the infrequent ingestion of injection site residues based on acute dietary exposure considerations. While all of these approaches protect the safety of consumers, the adoption of different approaches has potential implications for residue surveillance programs in the international trade in meat. In particular, when an exporting country establishes standards for residues at injection sites based on acute dietary exposure considerations and the importing country assesses these residues against the MRL for muscle, the unnecessary condemnation of meat and disruption to market access may result. The latter may represent a potential economical impost to the exporting country. An internationally harmonized approach to the risk analysis of residues of veterinary drugs at injection sites, which protects the safety of consumers and facilitates the international trade in meat, is needed.

Liposomal nanocapsules in food science and agriculture

Liposomes, spherical bilayer vesicles from dispersion of polar lipids in aqueous solvents, have been widely studied for their ability to act as drug delivery vehicles by shielding reactive or sensitive compounds prior to release. Liposome entrapment has been shown to stabilize encapsulated, bioactive materials against a range of environmental and chemical changes, including enzymatic and chemical modification, as well as buffering against extreme pH, temperature, and ionic strength changes. Liposomes have been especially useful to researchers in studies of various physiological processes as models of biological membranes in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes. Industrial applications include encapsulation of pharmaceuticals and therapeutics, cosmetics, anti-cancer and gene therapy drugs. In the food industry, liposomes have been used to deliver food flavors and nutrients and more recently have been investigated for their ability to incorporate food antimicrobials that could aid in the protection of food products against growth of spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms. In this review we briefly introduce key physicochemical properties of liposomes and review competing methods for liposome production. A survey of non-agricultural and food applications of liposomes are given. Finally, a detailed up-to-date summary of the emerging usage of liposomes in the food industry as delivery vehicles of nutrients, nutraceuticals, food additives, and food antimicrobials is provided.

Comparative pharmacokinetics of enrofloxacin and tissue concentrations of parent drug and ciprofloxacin after intramuscular administrations of free and liposome-encapsulated enrofloxacin in rabbits

Pharmacokinetic properties and tissue concentrations of enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin were compared after intramuscular (i.m.) administrations of free and liposome-encapsulated enrofloxacin at the dose of 5 mg/kg body weight (bw). Twelve healthy adult New Zealand white rabbits were used in the experiment. Blood samples were obtained at 10, 20, 40, 60 and 90 min and 2, 4, 6, 8 and 12 h and tissue samples were collected 24 h after injection. Concentrations of drugs in serum were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. Pharmacokinetics were best described by a two-compartment open model. Results indicated that absorption rate was slow, peak concentration was higher (P < 0.05), and the time to peak concentration (tmax congruent with 1.5 h) was significantly longer (P < 0.05) for liposome-encapsulated enrofloxacin (LEE) when compared with free enrofloxacin. Values of elimination half-life (t1/2beta = 12.9 h) and mean residence time (MRT = 17.6 h) of liposome-encapsulated enrofloxacin were longer (P < 0.05) and total clearance (Cl = 0.43 l/h/kg) was lower than those of free form. Moreover, the distribution volume at steady-state (Vd(ss) = 14.4 l/kg) of enrofloxacin administered encapsulated into liposomes was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than that of free enrofloxacin (FE). The tissue levels of enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin after LEE injection were not different (P > 0.05) from FE. In conclusion, the result of present study suggest that LEE may be a beneficial and valuable formulation in the treatment of infectious diseases caused by sensitive pathogens in animals, providing sustained drug release from injection side and prolonged therapeutic serum concentrations after i.m. administration.

Degradable dextran microspheres for the controlled release of liposomes

A novel delivery concept based on the encapsulation of liposomes in biodegradable dextran microspheres was developed. The microspheres were prepared using a two-phase system, consisting of water/poly(ethylene glycol), and water/methacrylated dextran. Liposomes were encapsulated almost quantitatively and in their intact form, and were released with full preservation of their integrity. The effects of microsphere water content, degree of methacrylate substitution, and type of dextran derivative used on the release rate were investigated. The release of the liposomes from the dextran microspheres was fully controlled by the degradation rate of the spheres. This resulted, after a lag time, in a pulsed release of the liposomes from relatively rapidly degrading microspheres. On the other hand, slower degrading microspheres resulted in sustained release of liposomes over 100 days. The degradation rate of the dextran microspheres, in turn, depended on the water content, the degree of methacrylate substitution, and type of hydrolytically sensitive spacer present in the cross-links.

Evaluation of free and liposome-encapsulated gentamycin for intramuscular sustained release in rabbits

Gentamycin sulphate (GS) and gentamycin oleate (GO) were encapsulated in liposomes composed of phosphatidylcholine (HPC) and cholesterol (CHOL) (molar ratio 7:7:2 and 5:5:1, respectively), and were administered via intramuscular injection to rabbits, to evaluate their potential use as sustained release formulations. Five groups of five animals each were used for the pharmacokinetic study, and treatments were established as follows: 3 mg kg(-1) of GS i.v., 3 mg kg(-1) of GS i.m., 3 mg kg(-1) of liposome-containing gentamycin sulphate (LGS) i.m., 3 mg kg(-1) of GO i.m., and 3 mg kg(-1) of liposome-containing gentamycin oleate (LGO) i.m. Gentamycin plasma concentrations after i.m. administration of LGS were extremely low compared with those obtained after the i.m. administration of GS; the peak plasma concentration (Cmax) showed an eight-fold decrease with LGS, and the area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) was four-fold lower for the liposomal form. The apparent elimination half-life estimated after administration of LGS showed a three-fold increase compared with values calculated for free GS. After the administration of the same dose of LGO, Cmax obtained showed a 2.5-fold decrease in relation to peak concentrations of free GO, and the apparent beta-half life of encapsulated GO showed a three-fold increase compared with i.m. GO. Large-size liposomes containing gentamycin administered i.m. to rabbits gave sustained drug release from the injection site, providing prolonged plasma concentrations of the drug in the body.