METHODS OF MAKING LIPOSOMES CONTAINING HYDRO-MONOBENZOPORPHYRIN PHOTOSENSITIZERS

摘要

Methods for making a pharmaceutical composition containing liposomes, which liposomes comprise a therapeutically acceptable amount of a hydromonobenzoporphyrin photosensitizer and a mixture of phospholipids comprising egg phosphatidyl glycerol ("EPG") and dimyristoyl phosphatidyl choline ("DMPC"). The method comprises the steps of: a) combining the photosensitizer and the phospholipids in a molar ratio of about 1:7.0 or more phospholipid in the presence of an organic solvent; b) removing the organic solvent to form a lipid film; c) hydrating the lipid film with an aqueous solution at a temperature below about 300 ~C, to form coarse liposomes containing a photosensitizer-phospholipid complex; and d) homogenizing or reducing the particle size of the coarse liposomes to a particle size range of about 150 to 300 nm at a temperature below about 300 ~C. The invention also contemplates the liposomal pharmaceutical compositions themselves.