Extending the Pseudo-Phase Model of Detergent-Lipid Dispersions by a Detergent-Binding Protein

Mixed micellar drug delivery systems for poorly soluble active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are easy to produce and long-term stable, because they represent equilibrium structures. However, their fate after intravenous injection is still largely unknown. Once injected into the bloodstream, they can potentially convert to vesicles or disappear altogether, with both API and excipients being picked up by blood components. Our study aimed at reducing the gap between the good, quantitative understanding of aqueous glycocholate (GC)-lecithin dispersions alone and the highly complex situation in the blood. To this end, we extended the pseudophase model previously established for lipid-detergent dispersions to include the detergent-binding protein albumin as another component. The model predicted a quaternary phase diagram with planar phase boundaries defined by key parameters of the ternary subsystems, which were then determined by isothermal titration calorimetry. They include the aqueous GC concentration upon bilayer-micelle coexistence, 5.2 mM, the GC-to-lipid mole ratios in coexisting bilayers (R_e^sat = 0.2) and micelles (R_e^sol = 0.7), as well as the capacity of the albumin to bind 0.1 GC molecules with a dissociation constant of K_D = 0.1 mM and 6 GC molecules with K_D = 0.7 mM. Subsequent measurements in the quaternary system showed phase boundaries in good agreement with the model predictions. In addition, the critical micelle concentration of GC shows a minimal value (midpoint of transition) of 9.1 mM at the temperature of 24 °C where the demicellization enthalpy is zero. The demicellization process is accompanied by a heat capacity change of 29 cal/mol K. The model improves the understanding of the mixed micellar drug delivery systems. The success of the approach encourages including even more blood components, like lipoproteins, to a quantitative treatment.