Phospholipid vesicle targeting using synthetic glycolipid and other determinants.

The interactions of carbohydrate-modified phospholipid vesicles with various isolated cell types in vitro have been studied to establish a better basis for understanding the mechanisms for recognition and transport of such modified vesicles in vivo. The physical basis for the use of perturbed angular correlation spectroscopy for the measurement of phospholipid vesicle integrity, and the kinetics of uptake of modified phospholipid vesicles by mouse peritoneal macrophage are first reviewed. The effects of variation of the chemical structure of the determinant and other factors indicate that the rate of uptake of cationic vesicles by mouse peritoneal macrophage is directly related to the distance that an amine group can be extended beyond the vesicle surface, and not, for example, to the stereochemistry of the carbohydrate determinant. The uptake mechanism appears to involve generalized phagocytosis and not a receptor-mediated mechanism, or an opsonization process that is not stereospecific.