Selective quantitation of the incorporation of the immunomodulator α-galactosylceramide in liposomes using LC–MS/MS

Liposomal α-galactosylceramide is taken up by gut-associated lymphoid tissue and stimulates local and systemic immune responses

“…α‐GalCer can be readily incorporated (>90%) into the bilayers of liposomes at concentrations of up to 5% w/w as it contains relatively long acyl chains and no ionizable functional groups. Incorporation of these amounts of α‐GalCer into liposomes had little effect on particle morphology, and the loss of α‐GalCer during preparation was accounted for by measuring α‐GalCer concentration in the liposomes with a LC‐MS/MS method used previously . The physical stability of cationic liposomes was tested in another experiment and found minor or insignificant changes to the particle size and antigen retention over 2 or 3 h in simulated gastric and intestinal fluid, respectively ().…”