Cholesterol succinyl chitosan anchored liposomes: preparation, characterization, physical stability, and drug release behavior

The purpose of this study was to prepare cholesterol succinyl chitosan anchored liposomes (CALs) and to investigate their characterization, physical stability, and drug release behavior in vitro. Three cholesterol succinyl chitosan (CHCS) conjugates with different substitution degrees (DS) of the cholesterol moiety were synthesized and used as the anchoring materials to coating on the liposome surface by the incubation method. CALs were almost spherical and had a classic shell-core structure. Compared with plain liposomes and chitosan-coated liposomes (CCLs), CALs had larger sizes, higher zeta potentials, and better physical stability after storage at 4 ± 2°C and 25 ± 2°C. Epirubicin, as a model drug, was effectively loaded into CALs and exhibited the more sustained release in both phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.4) and 1% (vol/vol) aqueous fetal bovine serum compared to plain liposomes and CCLs.From the Clinical EditorCholesterol succinyl chitosan anchored liposomes (CAL) as delivery vehicles are characterized in this work, including their physical stability and drug release behavior in vitro. Epirubicin as a model drug, was effectively loaded into CALs, and exhibited sustained release behavior both in phosphate buffer solution (PBS, pH 7.4) and 1% (V/V) aqueous fetal bovine serum (FBS).