Determination of intraliposomal pH and its effect on membrane partitioning and passive loading of a hydrophobic camptothecin, DB-67

The purpose of this work was to study the effect of pH on the liposomal encapsulation of a model camptothecin anti-tumor agent, DB-67, by considering the state of ionization and bilayer membrane/water partitioning of the drug as a function of pH. A novel fluorescence method was developed to monitor intravesicular pH in liposomal formulations containing entrapped DB-67 by using the drug itself as a pH indicator. Fluorescence spectra were recorded in aqueous buffers and liposomes and used to estimate the ionization constant of the A-ring phenol of DB-67 (pKa2pKa2) and shifts in ionization constants (pKa1pKa1 and pKa2pKa2) due to membrane binding. Bilayer/water partitioning studies by equilibrium dialysis were employed to show that DB-67 is highly membrane bound over the entire pH range examined though binding decreases with an increase in pH. The observed ionization constants of membrane-bound DB-67 obtained from the equilibrium dialysis experiments were consistent with observations from fluorescence measurements and previous permeability results. The pH dependence of DB-67 loading using a passive loading technique was found to reflect the pH dependence of membrane binding of the drug. This results in poor encapsulation efficiency of DB-67 at high pH, necessitating further development of formulation strategies to improve loading efficiency.