High performance liquid chromatographic analysis of liposome stability.

Two techniques have been studied for their suitability for the analysis of the stability of liposomes: (1) High Performance Gel Permeation Liquid Chromatography (HPGPLC), a TSK G5000PW Ultrogel column; (2) Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC), a Sepharose 4B column. The stability of dual radio-labelled, cholesterol-poor and cholesterol-rich, negatively charged liposomes in vitro (in saline and in serum), and in vivo, have been investigated using these two techniques. The HPGPLC TSK G5000PW column proved to be the superior technique for the analysis of liposome stability with the advantages of rapid run times, increased sample recovery, and smaller sample volumes were required. The results obtained confirm that inclusion of a high ratio of cholesterol into the liposome structure prevents phospholipid loss when exposed to serum, and that the cholesterol-poor liposome structure is dramatically altered under the same conditions. In conclusion, the TSK G5000PW column is ideal for monitoring movement of phospholipid between liposomes and serum proteins and for detecting changes in liposome size.