Some Facts About Liposomal Clodronate

By Roxanne Cruz


Liposomal clodronate therapy is a very useful drug formulation for treating autoimmune hemolytic anemia. This particular autoimmune disease destroys red blood cells. Usual therapies include the use of corticosteroids and splenectomy, but this one gives very fast and promising results by destroying macrophages.

Clodronate was successfully used for treating different osteolytic bone diseases. In various researches, it proved itself to be very useful in so called liposome mediated macrophage suicide technique. This method of depleting macrophages provides very good results in a very short time. This is especially important when such fast results are needed for successful treatment.

Although clodronate itself wouldn't be able to successfully pass through all cell membranes, using liposomes as the vehicles efficiently solves this problem. Macrophages eagerly eat those liposomes, filling their cells with encapsulated clodronate, until the critical concentration is reached. At this point, they simply destroy themselves.

The suspension itself is non-toxic. The released drug, once it reaches the circulation, is safely removed from the body by the renal system. The results are very fast, and although they aren't permanent, they can be very useful in different treatments.

Of course, this method is successful only if liposomal clodronate reaches the macrophages to destroy. Given the fact that liposomes cannot cross capillary walls, they can destroy the macrophage in the liver, lung, spleen, lymph nodes, joints and peritoneal cavity. If liposomes are adequately administered, they can also destroy macrophages in testis.

This method is developed for in vivo use. After destroying targeted macrophages, the drug gets released and enters the circulation. Thanks to the fact it has quite short half life once it reaches the circulation, it will be soon removed from the organism, and it won't be accumulated in surrounding cells. That's why this suspension cannot be so efficient in in vitro research.

The temperature is very important. The suspension should never be frozen, and it should never be heated above 30 degrees of Celsius. The ideal temperature for keeping it is 4 degrees of Celsius. In any case, the suspension should be used within a few days. It is important to shake it well before dividing it into smaller dosages, because it tends to precipitate. It is important to get an even distribution, to achieve the proper concentration.

The quantity may vary, but recommended intravenous injection should be less than 0,1 ml for every 10 grams of weight. This number can be higher in case of intraperitoneal injection of the drug. Clodronate is stored within the liposomes, and the concentration depends on its solubility.

In liposomal clodronate therapy, the macrophage cell is irreversibly damaged and dies by apoptosis. It is recommended to use separate syringes for different animals. Make sure to shake the product well before dividing it in smaller doses. Make sure to clean well the areas where you plan to inject the suspension, to avoid different virus or bacteria contamination.




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