Characterization of plasma-stabilized liposomes composed of dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine and oleic acid [published errtum appears in Biochem Biophys Res Commun 1989 Sep 29;163(3):1539].

We have previously reported that small unilamellar liposomes (d less than or equal to 200 nm) composed of dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine and oleic acid can be stabilized by incubating with normal human plasma (Liu and Huang, Biochemistry 1989, in press). The stabilized liposomes were very stable even under relatively harsh conditions such as extreme pH, high salt and trypsin treatment. Fluorescence depolarization of diphenylhexatriene showed that the stabilized liposome had a high microviscosity in the lipid core, which did not decrease even after the majority of proteins were removed by trypsin. These data suggest that plasma proteins inserted into the lipid bilayer are probably responsible for the stabilization activity. After i.v. injection into mouse, stabilized liposomes showed a relatively low affinity to liver and spleen as compared to a conventional liposome composition.