Encapsulation techniques, liposome-based

The term encapsulation has been used to distinguish entrapment preparations in which the biocatalyst environment is comparable to that of the bulk phase and where there is no covalent attachment of the protein to the containment medium (Fig. 6-1 D)[21J. Enzymes or whole cells may be encapsulated within the interior of a microscopic semi-permeable membranes (microencapsulation) or within the interior of macroscopic hollow-fiber membranes. Liposome encapsulation, a common microscopic encapsulation technique, involves the containment of an enzyme within the interior of a spherical surfactant bilayer, usually based on a phospholipid such as lecithin. The dimensions and shape of the liposome are variable and may consist of multiple amphiphile layers. Processes in which microscopic compart-mentalization (cf. living cells) such as multienzyme systems, charge transfer systems, or processes that require a gradient in concentration have employed liposome encapsulation. This method of immobilization is also commonly used for the delivery of therapeutic proteins. 

This method was developed by Collaborative Research Inc. (F3). The technique, based on the use of immunoreactive liposomes, may be classified as another type of homogeneous immunoassay. The liposomes are microscopic vesicles (200-1000 nm in diameter) consisting of a relatively impermeable lipid bilayer that delineates and separates an internal aqueous compartment from the external aqueous medium. The principle is as follows (Fig. 3 and Table 6). An enzyme, alkaline phosphatase, is encapsulated in the liposomes [E] and sequestered from the substrate, p-nitrophenyl phos-... 

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