title: Carrier activity of sonicated small liposomes containing melphalan to regional lymph nodes of rats.
abstract: Tissue distribution following subcutaneous injection of liposomes containing melphalan (MPL) was studied in rats using 14C-MPL and 3H-phosphatidylcholine. Two types of liposomes, prepared by either a brief or a prolonged sonication, were compared. Brief sonication formed large liposomes of various sizes, while liposomes obtained after a prolonged sonication were small and relatively uniform in size (34 nm in mean diameter). Subcutaneous injection of small liposomes produced a strikingly high and sustained concentration of MPL equivalents in regional lymph nodes. In contrast, most liposomes prepared by a brief sonication appeared to remain at the injection site, and there was only a slight increase in the lymph node concentration of MPL equivalents over the plasma level during the 24-hour experiments.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D008081:Liposomes / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000378:metabolism*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008558:Melphalan / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000378:metabolism*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D013010:Sonication; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D008081:Liposomes; D008558:Melphalan