the present invention uses a blend of amphiphiles to form paucilamellar lipid vesicles . in particular , sucrose distearate is blended with at least one other amphiphile to form a lipid phase which can be hydrated to form vesicles . other additives , such as a sterol , may also be blended with the lipid phase . the preferred other amphiphiles to be used in the lipid phase are stearyl alcohol , polyoxyethylene fatty alcohols , polyoxyethylene derivatives of sorbitan fatty acid esters having 10 - 20 oxyethylene groups , and mixtures thereof ; wherein the fatty alcohol or fatty acid groups of the polyoxyethylene fatty alcohols and the polyoxyethylene derivatives of sorbitan fatty acid esters are selected from the group consisting of radicals of palmetic acid , stearic acid , lauric acid , and oleic acid , and mixtures thereof . in a preferred embodiment of the invention , the lipid mixture of the invention contains propylene glycol stearate , stearyl alcohol and polyoxyethylene 20 sorbitan monostearate ( polysorbate 60 ). this mixture may further contain at least one sterol selected from the group consisting of cholesterol , cholesterol derivatives , hydrocortisone , phytosterol , and mixtures thereof , and any other materials to be incorporated into the bilayers . the lipid vesicles of the invention are paucilamellar lipid vesicles characterized by two to ten lipid bilayers or shells with small aqueous volumes separating each substantially spherical lipid shell . the innermost lipid bilayer surrounds a large , substantially amorphous central cavity which may be filled with either an aqueous solution or a water - immiscible oily solution . examples of water - immiscible oily materials which can be encapsulated in the central cavity are mineral oils , soybean oil , paraffin waxes , petrolatum , triglyceride oils and fats , perfumes and fragrances , flavor oils , perfluorocarbon liquids , anthralin , retinoic acid , water insoluble vitamins , and water immiscible solvents . avocado oil unsaponifiables can also be encapsulated in the central cavity and is particularly useful as it may additionally be used as a source of phytosterol to stabilize the vesicle bilayer . in this example , both aqueous - filled and oil - filled lipid vesicles were formed using a blend of sucrose distearate and other amphiphiles and / or sterols . other amphiphiles included stearyl alcohol , polyoxyethylene 20 sorbitan monostearate ( polysorbate 60 ), and polyoxyethylene 10 stearyl alcohol ( brij 76 ). other sterols included cholesterol , soybean oil and avocado oil unsaponifiables . table 1______________________________________composition sample ( grams ) a b c d e f______________________________________sucrose distearate 4 . 25 2 . 55 2 . 5 2 . 5 2 . 0 2 . 0stearyl alcohol 0 . 5 0 . 5polysorbate 60 0 . 67brij 76 1 . 6 1 . 2avocado oil unsaponi - 4 . 0 4 . 0 5 . 0fiablescholesterol 0 . 75 1 . 25 1 . 25soybean oil 1 . 75water 30 35 30 30 40 40______________________________________composition sample ( grams ) g h i j k______________________________________sucrose distearate 2 . 0 2 . 5 2 . 5 2 . 0 2 . 5stearyl alcohol 0 . 5 0 . 5 0 . 75 0 . 5 0 . 35polysorbate 60 0 . 35 0 . 5 0 . 7 0 . 35brij 76 1 . 1avocado oil unsaponi - 4 . 0 4 . 0 4 . 0fiablescholesterol 1 . 25 1 . 25 0 . 3 0 . 3soybean oil 1 . 75water 40 30 30 35 35______________________________________ for samples a , c and i , aqueous - filled lipid vesicles were formed by first blending the sucrose distearate and the applicable amphiphiles and / or cholesterol at approximately 80 ° c . with water at 70 ° c . hydration to form lipid vesicles was then achieved by shear mixing the lipid and aqueous phases using two 60 cc syringes , connected by a stopcock . the lipid and aqueous phases were blended from one syringe to the other , forming aqueous filled vesicles in two minutes or less . however , in this and the following examples , any method of achieving the proper shear could be used . preferably , a flow device such as the novamix ™ vesicle former is used . the basic details of the novamix ™ system are described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 895 , 452 , the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference . for samples b , d - h , and j - k oil - filled vesicles were formed using the hot loading technique described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 911 , 928 , the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference . briefly , in order to hot load the vesicles , the soybean oil or avocado oil unsaponifiables was heated to 82 ° c ., blended with the lipid phase , and then the combined lipid / oily phase was hydrated by the aqueous phase at 70 ° c . using the syringe method described above . either hot loading or cold loading techniques may be used for soybean oil and avocado oil unsaponifiables . sample a was designed to form lipid vesicles using sucrose distearate as the only amphiphile in the lipid bilayers . after processing to form lipid vesicles , the sample had a fluid consistency and microscopic examination showed poor , hetro - sized vesicles . this result indicated the need to add another amphiphile or spacer molecule in the mixture making up the lipid walls , probably due to the large size of the sucrose distearate molecules . no separation was observed after centrifugation at 3500 rpm for 15 minutes . samples b - f were designed to form both oil - filled and aqueous - filled lipid vesicles using only one amphiphile or spacer in addition to sucrose distearate , as the materials forming the lipid bilayers . the spacers used were stearyl alcohol , polysorbate 60 or brij 76 . after processing to form lipid vesicles , all of these samples had a fluid consistency and an off - white color , probably due to the cream color of the sucrose distearate . upon microscopic examination of samples b - f , the following observations were made : sample b showed many hetro - sized vesicles with rough surfaces and irregular cores . all vesicles were birfringent with maltese cross patterns visible , indicating multiple concentric lipid bilayers . sample e showed the best vesicle formation . the vesicles were quite homogenous and mostly hetro - sized . birfringence with maltese crosses was also observed , indicating multiple concentric lipid bilayers . sample f showed hetro - sized vesicles , much like those in sample e , but the vesicles had rough surfaces . after centrifugation of samples b - f , sample e showed approximately 5 ml of turbid , aqueous phase separation at the bottom of the samples , probably due to an excess of water in this sample . sample f showed approximately 2 - 3 ml of separation , probably due to an excess of water in this sample . samples b - d all showed no separation . overall , samples b - f show that lipid vesicles formed with sucrose distearate and only one other amphiphile consisting of stearyl alcohol or polysorbate 60 tend to be poorly shaped and irregular . however , when brij 76 is used as the only other amphiphile making up the lipid bilayers , along with sucrose distearate , then good lipid vesicle formation is achieved . samples g - k were designed to form both aqueous - filled and oil - filled lipid vesicles using a combination of two amphiphiles in addition to sucrose distearate as the principal materials making up the lipid bilayers . sample g contained stearyl alcohol and brij 76 as the spacers , whereas samples h - k all contained stearyl alcohol and polysorbate 60 . after processing to form lipid vesicles , all samples g - k had a fluid consistency , except for sample h which was more lotion - like ( probably due to the lesser amount of polysorbate 60 and water ). upon microscopic examination , the following results were observed : sample g showed mostly nice , hetro - sized vesicles mixed with a few tear drop shaped vesicles with irregular cores . sample h showed many small nicely - formed vesicles mixed with a few very large , birefringent vesicles . sample i showed the same vesicles as h , except that the vesicles were aggregated . after centrifugation of samples g - k , sample h showed approximately 5 ml of turbid , aqueous phase separation at the bottom of the sample , probably due to an excess of water in this sample . samples g and k showed approximately 2 - 3 ml of separation , probably due to an excess of water in these samples . all other samples showed no separation . overall , samples g - k show that lipid vesicles formed by using two amphiphiles or spacers in addition to sucrose distearate as the principal materials in the lipid bilayers tend to be nicely shaped hetro - sized vesicles . by hot loading these vesicles with an oil , preferably soybean oil ( as in sample h ) or avocado oil unsaponifiables , which provides the additional benefit of acting as a structural component in the lipid bilayers ( as in samples j and k ), further homogeneity in the lipid vesicle population can be achieved . the foregoing examples are merely illustrative and those skilled in the art may be able to determine other materials and methods which accomplish the same results . such other materials and methods are included within the following claims .
disclosed are lipid vesicles containing a blend of amphiphiles , including sucrose distearate , in the lipid bilayers . the vesicles may have either an aqueous or oil - filled central cavity and are particularly useful for delivering dermatological , cosmetic and pharmaceutical formulations . a method of manufacture for these vesicles is also disclosed .