Non-toxic vehicle to solubilize, deliver, and obtain biological activity of steroid hormones at cell, tissue, and organ targets, in vitro and in vivo

Abstract

A non-toxic vehicle for hormone therapy. The non-toxic vehicle includes a cationic lipid or a neutral lipid and polyethylene glycol.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of preparing a hormone treatment with a non-toxic vehicle, the method comprising:
 preparing a first solution comprising an aqueous solution of a hormone and polyethylene glycol 300;   preparing a second solution comprising a cationic lipid and polyethylene glycol 300, wherein a concentration of the cationic lipid in the polyethylene glycol 300 is 5%;   combining the first solution with the second solution.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the cationic lipid is selected from the group consisting of N-[1-(2,3-dioleyloxy)propyl]-N,N,N-trimethylammonium chloride; 2,3-dioleyloxy-N[2-(spermine-carboxaindo)ethyl]-N,N-dimethyl-1-propanaminium; 5-carboxyspermylglycinedioctadecylaminde; N,N-dimethyl-N-ethylcarboxamidochloesterol; and 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the hormone is one or more of estradiol, testosterone, dihydrotestosterone (“DHT”), and a glucocorticoid. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 introducing a neutral lipid to the second solution before combining the first and second solutions.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the neutral lipid is selected from the group consisting of dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine; palmitoyl-snglycero-phosphoethanolamine; and 1,2-dimyristoyl-snglycero-3-phospho-ethanolamine.