Patent ID: 7824709

Claim:
A bioactive agent delivery particle consisting essentially of at least one lipid binding polypeptide, a lipid bilayer, and one or more bioactive agents comprising at least one hydrophobic region wherein said bioactive agent is a non-polypeptide selected from the group consisting of antimicrobials, neurotransmitters, radiolabels, fluorescent compounds, antimetabolic agents, anesthetics, anticancer agents, anti-inflammatory agents, pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, all-trans retinoic acid, lipopolysaccharide, Vitamin E, and photosensitizing agents used in photodynamic therapy, wherein the lipid bilayer comprises at least one phospholipid and the interior of the lipid bilayer comprises a hydrophobic region and the one or more bioactive agents is incorporated into the hydrophobic region of the lipid bilayer, and wherein the particle does not comprise an aqueous core, is disc-shaped with the hydrophobic edge of the lipid bilayer circumscribed by the lipid binding polypeptide at the periphery of the particle and remains disc shaped in aqueous solution, and wherein said lipid binding polypeptide comprises a class A amphipathic α-helix structural motif and/or a β-sheet motif and is selected from the group consisting of apolipoproteins and chimeric apolipoproteins.