Preparation and Characterization of Lipid Vesicles Containing Magnetite and an Anticancer Drug

The preparation and physicochemical properties of lipid vesicles, containing magnetite (Fe3O4) and an anticancer agent (5-fluorouracil) were described. The possibility of using the resulting lipid vesicles as a targeting carrier was examined both in vitro and in vivo. From measurements of viscosity, the observational data in this study were found to be in fairly good accord with the theoretically derived viscosity equation described by Brinkman or Oliver and Ward. The resulting lipid vesicles containing very fine Fe3O4 particles were found to act as rigid spheres in solution. At a field strength of 4000 G, more than 80% of the lipid vesicles infused were found to be retained in the target site of the ear vasculature in rabbits.