Targeted delivery of insulin-modified immunoliposomes in vivo

Zhiwen Yang1, Muhua Yang, Guolun Xiahou

  • 1Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Gannan Medical College, No. 1 Yixueyuan Road, Ganzhou, China. menghua001@sina.com

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of liposomes conjugated with insulin to the surface on circulation time, biodistribution, and antitumor activity after intravenous injection in tumor-bearing mice. Immunoliposomes were constructed with insulin, which was covalently linked to liposomes containing anticancer drugs. In order to investigate the targeting performance of insulin-modified immunoliposomes (SILs) in vivo, plasma pharmacokinetics, biodistribution, and antitumor activity were tested. In comparison with nontargeted liposomes (SLs), SILs were cleared faster from circulation as a result of greater liver and tumor uptake. In addition, SILs retarded the growth of the tumor effectively, compared with the ZTO injection or SL. This is the first time for selective in vivo targeting of tumor vessels using insulin-modified immunoliposomes. SILs are candidate drug-delivery systems for therapeutic anticancer approaches.

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