Aim: We endeavored to create a folate-targeted liposome (Fol-liposome) that could selectively target areas of inflammation. Materials & methods: Fol-liposomes were prepared with encapsulated DiD fluorophore or betamethasone (BM) to image and treat an adjuvant-induced rat model of rheumatoid arthritis. Results: Fol-liposomes selectively accumulated in arthritic rat paws to a greater extent than nontargeted liposomes. When these Fol-liposomes were used to encapsulate BM and administered to arthritic rats, animals exhibited less paw swelling, lower arthritis scores, a reduction in bone erosion, less splenomegaly and better maintenance of body weight when compared with nontreated or nontargeted BM-containing liposome groups. Conclusion: Fol-liposomes can selectively deliver imaging and therapeutic agents to sites of inflammation in a rat model of rheumatoid arthritis.

Keywords:

Papers of special note have been highlighted as: • of interest; •• of considerable interest

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Vol. 12, No. 20

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Published online 20 September 2017

Published in print October 2017

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the campus-wide mass spectroscopy facility and support from the Purdue University Center for Cancer Research, P30CA023168. We wish to thank C Galliford, J Shen, M Hansen, C Wayua, G Javis and N Bandara for their valuable assistance.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

PS Low is a chief scientific officer at and reports receiving a commercial research grant from Endocyte, Inc. This work was supported by a grant from Endocyte, Inc. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Ethical conduct of research

The authors state that they have obtained appropriate institutional review board approval or have followed the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki for all human or animal experimental investigations. In addition, for investigations involving human subjects, informed consent has been obtained from the participants involved.

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