Treatment of murine candidiasis and cryptococcosis with amphotericin B incorporated into egg lecithin-bile salt mixed micelles.

Amphotericin B (AmB) with deoxycholate (Fungizone) and AmB incorporated into mixed micelles (AmB-mixMs) composed of egg lecithin with glycocholate, deoxycholate, or taurocholate were compared as treatments for murine infections. For mice infected with Candida albicans, treatment consisted of a single intravenous injection; for mice infected with Cryptococcus neoformans, treatment consisted of two intravenous injections. The maximal tolerated doses of AmB as Fungizone were 1.25 mg/kg of body weight in mice with candidiasis and 2.5 mg/kg of body weight in mice with cryptococcosis. The AmB-mixMs were nontoxic to mice at doses of 80 and 100 mg/kg of body weight and were therapeutically more active than the maximal tolerated dose of Fungizone in both models of infection. However, when Fungizone or AmB-mixMs were administered at equivalent doses of AmB, AmB-mixMs were more active in treating murine candidiasis, whereas Fungizone was more active in treating murine cryptococcosis.