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Liposomes, spherical-shaped nanovesicles, were discovered in the 60ies by Bangham. Since that, they were extensively studied as potential drug carrier. Due to their composition variability and structural properties, liposomes are extremely versatile leading to a large number of applications including pharmaceutical, cosmetics and food industrial fields. This bibliographic paper offers a general review on the background and development of liposomes with a focus on preparation methods including classic (thin film hydration, reverse-phase evaporation, ethanol injection…) and novel scalable techniques. Furthermore, liposome characterization techniques including mean size, zetapotential, lamellarity, encapsulation efficiency, in vitro drug release, vesicles stability and lipid analysis synthesized from different published works are reported. The current deepening and widening of liposome interest in many scientific disciplines and their application in pharmaceutics, cosmetics and food industries as promising novel breakthroughs and products were also handled. Finally, an opinion on the usefulness of liposomes in various applications ranging from unsubstantiated optimism to undeserved pessimism is given. The obtained information allows establishing criteria for selecting liposomes as a drug carrier according to its advantages and limitations.

Citrulline possesses a highly specific metabolism that bypasses splanchnic extraction because it is not used by the intestine or taken up by the liver. The administration of citrulline may be used to deliver available nitrogen for protein homeostasis in peripheral tissues and as an arginine precursor synthesized de novo in the kidneys and endothelial and immune cells. Fresh research has shown that citrulline is efficiently transported across the intestinal luminal membrane by a set of transporters belonging to the B⁰,⁺, L, and b⁰,⁺ systems. Several pharmacokinetic studies have confirmed that citrulline is efficiently absorbed when administered orally. Oral citrulline could be used to deliver arginine to the systemic circulation or as a protein anabolic agent in specific clinical situations, because recent data have suggested that citrulline, although not a component of proteins, stimulates protein synthesis in skeletal muscle through the mammalian target of rapamycin signaling pathway. Hence, citrulline could play a pivotal role in maintaining protein homeostasis and is a promising pharmaconutrient in nutritional support strategies for malnourished patients, especially in aging and sarcopenia.

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