ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the principles and practice of producing non-phospholipid liposomes on a scale of liters to thousands of liters. The manufacture of non-phospholipid liposomes relies on the conversion of micellar solutions of membrane-mimetic amphiphiles to liposomal structures by manipulation of environmental variables in an appropriate temporal sequence. The chapter summarizes processes used for the bulk production of non-phospholipid liposomes and provides examples from the agrichemical, cosmetic, paint, and pharmaceutical fields. In continuous flow applications, this liquid is then injected into a 5- to 15-fold excess of heated aqueous phase, through tangentially placed nozzles into a small, cylindrical mixing chamber. The methods to be discussed for the manufacture of non-phospholipid liposomes involves the formation of micellar aggregates of membrane-mimetic amphiphiles and the controlled coalescence of these aggregates into membrane-bounded vesicles. Experimental data obtained with high- and low-capture volume vesicle populations with diameters recorded by photon correlation counting, indicate that most of the vesicles in these populations have 2-3 bilayers.
