Abstract: The present invention provides for lipid:nucleic acid complexes that have increased shelf life and high transfection activity in vivo following intravenous injection, and methods of preparing such complexes. The methods generally involve contacting a nucleic acid with an organic polycation to produce a condensed nucleic acid, and then combining the condensed nucleic acid with a lipid comprising an amphiphilic cationic lipid to produce the lipid:nucleic acid complex. This complex can be further stabilized by the addition of a hydrophilic polymer attached to hydrophobic side chains. The complex can also be made specific for specific cells, by incorporating a targeting moiety such as an Fab? fragment attached to a hydrophilic polymer.

Abstract: The present invention provides for liposomes loaded with a therapeutic agent, which liposomes are targeted to a cell of interest by incubation with a targeting protein protein conjugated to a linker molecule comprising a hydrophobic domain, a hydrophilic polymer chain terminally attached to the hydrophobic domain, and a chemical group reactive to one or more functional groups on a protein molecule and attached to the hydrophilic polymer chain at a terminus contralateral to the hydrophobic domain, for a time sufficient to permit the hydrophobic domain to become stably associated with the liposome.

Abstract: The invention provides methods of attaching proteins to lipidic microparticles with efficiencies of at least 77%. The proteins are attached to linker molecules comprising a hydrophilic domain and a hydrophobic domain. The proteins can be antibodies, antibody fragments, hormones, growth factors, enzymes, or nucleic acid binding proteins, or other proteins. The proteins can be chemically conjugated to the linker molecules, or they can be fused to the linker molecules by recombinant techniques.

Abstract: The present invention provides for lipid:nucleic acid complexes that have increased shelf life and high transfection activity in vivo following intravenous injection, and methods of preparing such complexes. The methods generally involve contacting a nucleic acid with an organic polycation to produce a condensed nucleic acid, and then combining the condensed nucleic acid with a lipid comprising an amphiphilic cationic lipid to produce the lipid:nucleic acid complex. This complex can be further stabilized by the addition of a hydrophilic polymer attached to hydrophobic side chains. The complex can also be made specific for specific cells, by incorporating a targeting moiety such as an Fab? fragment attached to a hydrophilic polymer.

Abstract: The present invention provides for lipid:nucleic acid complexes that have increased shelf life and high transfection activity in vivo following intravenous injection, and methods of preparing such complexes. The methods generally involve contacting a nucleic acid with an organic polycation to produce a condensed nucleic acid, and then combining the condensed nucleic acid with a lipid comprising an amphiphilic cationic lipid to produce the lipid:nucleic acid complex. This complex can be further stabilized by the addition of a hydrophilic polymer attached to hydrophobic side chains. The complex can also be made specific for specific cells, by incorporating a targeting moiety such as an Fab? fragment attached to a hydrophilic polymer.

Abstract: The invention provides methods of attaching proteins to lipidic microparticles with efficiencies of at least 77%. The proteins are attached to linker molecules comprising a hydrophilic domain and a hydrophobic domain. The proteins can be antibodies, antibody fragments, hormones, growth factors, enzymes, or nucleic acid binding proteins, or other proteins. The proteins can be chemically conjugated to the linker molecules, or they can be fused to the linker molecules by recombinant techniques.

Abstract: The invention provides lipidic microparticles stably associated with at least two different targeting moieties, which targeting moieties are attached to linker molecules comprising a hydrophilic domain and a hydrophobic domain. The targeting moieties can be antibodies, antibody fragments, hormones, growth factors, enzymes, or nucleic acid binding proteins, or other proteins. The targeting moieties can be chemically conjugated to the linker molecules, or they can be fused by recombinant techniques.

Abstract: The present invention provides for lipid:nucleic acid complexes that have increased shelf life and high transfection activity in vivo following intravenous injection, and methods of preparing such complexes. The methods generally involve contacting a nucleic acid with an organic polycation to produce a condensed nucleic acid, and then combining the condensed nucleic acid with a lipid comprising an amphiphilic cationic lipid to produce the lipid:nucleic acid complex. This complex can be further stabilized by the addition of a hydrophilic polymer attached to hydrophobic side chains. The complex can also be made specific for specific cells, by incorporating a targeting moiety such as an Fab′ fragment attached to a hydrophilic polymer.

Abstract: The present invention provides for lipid:nucleic acid complexes that have increased shelf life and high transfection activity in vivo following intravenous injection, and methods of preparing such complexes. The methods generally involve contacting a nucleic acid with an organic polycation to produce a condensed nucleic acid, and then combining the condensed nucleic acid with a lipid comprising an amphiphilic cationic lipid to produce the lipid:nucleic acid complex. This complex can be further stabilized by the addition of a hydrophilic polymer attached to hydrophobic side chains. The complex can also be made specific for specific cells, by incorporating a targeting moiety such as an Fab′ fragment attached to a hydrophilic polymer.

Abstract: The present invention provides for lipid:nucleic acid complexes that have increased shelf life and high transfection activity in vivo following intravenous injection, and methods of preparing such complexes. The methods generally involve contacting a nucleic acid with an organic polycation to produce a condensed nucleic acid, and then combining the condensed nucleic acid with a lipid comprising an amphiphilic cationic lipid to produce the lipid:nucleic acid complex. This complex can be further stabilized by the addition of a hydrophilic polymer attached to hydrophobic side chains. The complex can also be made specific for specific cells, by incorporating a targeting moiety such as an Fab′ fragment attached to a hydrophilic polymer.

Abstract: This invention relates to the field of liposomes. In particular, this invention provides novel liposomes that are pH-sensitive, yet are also stable in serum. The liposomes are complexed with a molecule comprising a thermally-sensitive polymer showing lower critical solution temperature behavior in aqueous solutions, said thermally-sensitive polymer bearing a hydrophobic substituent and a pH sensitive substituent, wherein said hydrophobic substituent is less than 10 kD and which pH sensitive substituent remains ionizable following said covalent bonding to said thermally-sensitive polymer, and whose pH sensitive does not depend on cleavage of the covalent bond to said thermally-sensitive polymer. The invention further relates to methods of conferring pH sensitivity upon liposomes by complexing the liposomes with such molecules.

Abstract: The present invention provides for lipid:nucleic acid complexes that have increased shelf life and high transfection activity in vivo following intravenous injection, and methods of preparing such complexes. The methods generally involve contacting a nucleic acid with an organic polycation to produce a condensed nucleic acid, and then combining the condensed nucleic acid with a lipid comprising an amphiphilic cationic lipid to produce the lipid:nucleic acid complex. This complex can be further stabilized by the addition of a hydrophilic polymer attached to hydrophobic side chains. The complex can also be made specific for specific cells, by incorporating a targeting moiety such as an Fab′ fragment attached to a hydrophilic polymer.

Abstract: The present invention provides for lipid:nucleic acid complexes that have increased shelf life and high transfection activity in vivo following intravenous injection, and methods of preparing such complexes. The methods generally involve contacting a nucleic acid with an organic polycation to produce a condensed nucleic acid, and then combining the condensed nucleic acid with a lipid comprising an amphiphilic cationic lipid to produce the lipid:nucleic acid complex. This complex can be further stabilized by the addition of a hydrophilic polymer attached to hydrophobic side chains. The complex can also be made specific for specific cells, by incorporating a targeting moiety such as an Fab′ fragment attached to a hydrophilic polymer.

Abstract: The present invention provides for lipid:nucleic acid complexes that have increased shelf life and high transfection activity in vivo following intravenous injection, and methods of preparing such complexes. The methods generally involve contacting a nucleic acid with an organic polycation to produce a condensed nucleic acid, and then combining the condensed nucleic acid with a lipid comprising an amphiphilic cationic lipid to produce the lipid:nucleic acid complex. This complex can be further stabilized by the addition of a hydrophilic polymer attached to hydrophobic side chains. The complex can also be made specific for specific cells, by incorporating a targeting moiety such as an Fab′ fragment attached to a hydrophilic polymer.

Abstract: The present invention provides for lipid:nucleic acid complexes that have increased shelf life and high transfection activity in vivo following intravenous injection, and methods of preparing such complexes. The methods generally involve contacting a nucleic acid with an organic polycation to produce a condensed nucleic acid, and then combining the condensed nucleic acid with a lipid comprising an amphiphilic cationic lipid to produce the lipid:nucleic acid complex. This complex can be further stabilized by the addition of a hydrophilic polymer attached to hydrophobic side chains. The complex can also be made specific for specific cells, by incorporating a targeting moiety such as an Fab' fragment attached to a hydrophilic polymer.

Abstract: Drugs encapsulated in liposomes are provided, where the drugs are low molecular weight, negatively charged polar drugs and the liposomes are comprised of high transition temperature phospholipids and cholesterol. Relatively large liposomes are employed to enhance drug effectiveness with viable cells.

Abstract: Enhanced immunogenicity is achieved by covalently linking immunogens to liposomes and injecting the membrane-bound-proteins into an appropriate vertebrate host. Methods and compositions are provided for producing antibodies.

Abstract: A process and resulting product for producing large unilamellar phosphatidylserine vesicles (LUV) in the diameter of about 2,000-12,000 A which may additionally encapsulate a drug. The large vesicles are prepared from an initial phosphatidylserine aqueous solution which is subjected to ultrasound or sonicated which produces small unilamellar vesicles (SUV) in the diameter range of 200-500 A. After the addition of calcium ion (Ca.sup.2+) in the molar concentration of about 1-10 mM (threshold 1-2 mM) and incubating for 30-60 minutes at room temperature above 10.degree. C and preferably 37.degree. C, intermediate cochleate lipid cylinders form. Finally, addition of a calcium chelating agent such as EDTA or EGTA to these cochleate cylinders produces by fusion the desired large closed spherical unilamellar vesicles (LUV). The intermediate cochleate form appears specific to the phospholipid serine utilized and to the calcium ion (Ca.sup.2+) incubating agent.