Liposomal blockade of the reticuloendothelial system: improved tumor imaging with small unilamellar vesicles.

The reticuloendothelial system of mice bearing EMT6 tumors was effectively blocked by intravenous injections of small unilamellar vesicles that incorporated a 6-aminomannose derivative of cholesterol in the lipid bilayer. Neutral liposomes loaded with indium-111-nitrilotriacetic acid were then injected. Fifty percent more radioactivity was deposited in tumors of the animals with blocked reticuloendothelial systems than in controls. Twenty-four hours after the injection of radioactive vesicles, well-defined tumor images were observed in whole-body gamma camera scintigraphs. Biodistribution studies showed that tumors from animals with blocked reticuloendothelial systems had more than twice the radioactivity per gram than any other tissue analyzed.