Preparation of resealed carrier erythrocytes and in vivo survival in dogs.

Canine carrier erythrocytes are prepared by dialysis to contain [14C]-sucrose. The procedure allows over 37% of the available sucrose to be encapsulated in the erythrocytes. Cell recovery from the dialysis procedure is greater than 80%. Carrier erythrocytes were prepared from 4 breeds of dogs in less than 2 hours. Although there were some animal-to-animal differences, breed differences were not noticeable in carrier cell preparation. The carrier or resealed erythrocytes contain ca 70% of their hemoglobin and when injected circulate with a half-life of 36 days. These carrier cells could thus serve as a drug delivery vehicle to provide circulating concentrations of encapsulated drug.