Investigating the Application of Liposomes as Drug Delivery Systems for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Cancer

Abstract

Chemotherapy is the routine treatment for cancer despite the poor efficacy and associated off-target toxicity. Furthermore, therapeutic doses of chemotherapeutic agents are limited due to their lack of tissue specificity. Various developments in nanotechnology have been applied to medicine with the aim of enhancing the drug delivery of chemotherapeutic agents. One of the successful developments includes nanoparticles which are particles that range between 1 and 100 nm that may be utilized as drug delivery systems for the treatment and diagnosis of cancer as they overcome the issues associated with chemotherapy; they are highly efficacious and cause fewer side effects on healthy tissues. Other nanotechnological developments include organic nanocarriers such as liposomes which are a type of nanoparticle, although they can deviate from the standard size range of nanoparticles as they may be several hundred nanometres in size. Liposomes are small artificial spherical vesicles ranging between 30 nm and several micrometres and contain one or more concentric lipid bilayers encapsulating an aqueous core that can entrap both hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs. Liposomes are biocompatible and low in toxicity and can be utilized to encapsulate and facilitate the intracellular delivery of chemotherapeutic agents as they are biodegradable and have reduced systemic toxicity compared with free drugs. Liposomes may be modified with PEG chains to prolong blood circulation and enable passive targeting. Grafting of targeting ligands on liposomes enables active targeting of anticancer drugs to tumour sites. In this review, we shall explore the properties of liposomes as drug delivery systems for the treatment and diagnosis of cancer. Moreover, we shall discuss the various synthesis and functionalization techniques associated with liposomes including their drug delivery, current clinical applications, and toxicology.

Targeting Multidrug Resistance With Antimicrobial Peptide-Decorated Nanoparticles and Polymers

“…Liposomes are spherical vesicles featuring the lipid bilayers broadly used in drug delivery studies. It has been shown that liposomes can extend the drug half-life, biodegradability and/or biocompatibility, and decrease toxicity, making them very attractive solutions for biomedical studies ( Fathi and Oyelere, 2016 ; Allahou et al, 2021 ). Recent studies, for example, showed that liposomes enhance the bioactive molecules’ delivery by acting as a circulating micro-reservoir for sustained releases ( Karimi et al, 2015 ).…”

Development of Lomustine and n-Propyl Gallate Co-Encapsulated Liposomes for Targeting Glioblastoma Multiforme via Intranasal Administration

“…It allows delivering a wide range of therapeutic agents to the brain, including small molecules, growth factors, viral vectors, and even stem cells. Encapsulation of LOM into liposomes provides an interesting idea to resolve the insufficient drug delivery issue to cancer cells and to reduce the side effects on healthy tissues [ 43 , 44 ]. The combination of PG and LOM is novel; their combined anti-proliferative effect has not been studied before.…”

Thermosensitive Polymers and Thermo-Responsive Liposomal Drug Delivery Systems

“…Liposomes are nanosized carriers that resemble in their structure those of cell membranes. They have a lipid bilayer architecture comprised of phospholipids that assemble into concentric spherical shells of lipid bilayers with each bilayer’s inner and outer surfaces made up of hydrophilic heads and the hydrophobic tails arranged inside the bilayer and, hence, shielded from the surrounding aqueous environment [ 6 ]. This distinguishing arrangement allows for the encapsulation of hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs simultaneously, expanding the potential prospects of exploiting liposomes in the field of chemotherapeutics delivery.…”

“…While some of these nanoparticles are in the development stage, others have progressed to preclinical and clinical trials. The efficacy of the different nanoparticles as DDSs varies, depending on their size, structure, and physical/chemical properties [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]. Such nanocarrier-based systems have especially shown notable implementation in the targeted treatment of cancer, by localizing the effect of antineoplastic agents to diseased tumor sites.…”