Toxicity of gamma irradiated liposomes. 1. In vitro interactions with blood components

Gamma irradiation is a potential technique for sterilisation of liposome suspensions. Unfortunately, gamma irradiation may result in chemical degradation of the phospholipids and the toxicological aspects have to be considered. The effects of liposome composition and gamma irradiation on the interactions of the liposomes with the hemostatic mechanisms (hemolysis, aggregation and coagulation) were studied. Non-irradiated liposome suspensions showed no hemolysis of erythrocytes. After irradiation, up to 3.1% hemolysis was measured. Least hemolysis was observed with irradiated liposomes composed of unsaturated or charged phospholipids. The negatively charged DSPG-liposomes (both non-irradiated and irradiated) induced aggregation of platelets as observed by the spectrophotometric method. However, no aggregates were seen in the microscope or measured by the aggregometer. Negatively charged liposomes also affected the coagulation cascade where prolonged coagulation times were measured. Irradiation of the liposome suspensions resulted in even longer coagulation times. The prolonged coagulation times correlated to some extent with the measured binding and depletion of calcium from plasma by the negatively charged liposomes.