Liposomes as nanomedical devices

Abstract

Since their discovery in the 1960s, liposomes have been studied in depth, and they continue to constitute a field of intense research. Liposomes are valued for their biological and technological advantages, and are considered to be the most successful drug-carrier system known to date. Notable progress has been made, and several biomedical applications of liposomes are either in clinical trials, are about to be put on the market, or have already been approved for public use. In this review, we briefly analyze how the efficacy of liposomes depends on the nature of their components and their size, surface charge, and lipidic organization. Moreover, we discuss the influence of the physicochemical properties of liposomes on their interaction with cells, half-life, ability to enter tissues, and final fate in vivo. Finally, we describe some strategies developed to overcome limitations of the “first-generation” liposomes, and liposome-based drugs on the market and in clinical trials.

Calcium alginate microspheres containing metformin hydrochloride niosomes and chitosomes aimed for oral therapy of type 2 diabetes mellitus

“…Among these, vesicular carriers like liposomes are of particular interest, due to their ability to easily encapsulate both hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs, together with their biocompatibility, biodegradability and very low toxicity (Jain et al, 2014;Maestrelli et al, 2016). However, the practical use of liposomes is often restricted, mainly by problems related to leakage of encapsulated molecules, short half-life and, in particular, limited physical and chemical stability in solution and in biological environment, being destabilized by low pH, lipases and bile salts (Bozzuto and Molinari, 2015;McClements, 2015).…”

Eicosapentaenoic Acid-Enriched High-Density Lipoproteins Exhibit Anti-Atherogenic Properties

“…Addition of EPA-PC liposomes slightly increases the intracellular amounts of EPA, 18-HEPE, and RvE3 in cells, probably through passive fusion of the plasma membrane and liposomes. 26 Notably, the addition of EPA-HDL remarkably increases EPA, 18-HEPE, and RvE3 levels. Moreover, because the production of EPA, 18-HEPE, and RvE3 is proportional to the EPA content in HDL, they are generated from PC in rHDL but not in cells.…”

Liposome and Their Applications in Cancer Therapy

“…Liposomes are biodegradable, biocompatible, and stable in colloidal solutions (Akbarzadeh et al 2013;Allen and Cullis 2013). Liposomes protect the drug from degradation and reduce drug-related nonspecific toxicity and can be produced and formulated easily for the target specific delivery (Bitounis et al 2012;Bozzuto and Molinari 2015).…”

“…To overcome the limitations of conventional chemotherapy, a number of nanocarrier delivery systems have been developed and extensively used for drug delivery to cancer cells Tyagi et al 2013;Arora et al 2015). Nanocarriers have larger surface area as compared to bigger particles, which can be easily modified to encapsulate large amount of drug, to increase the blood circulation time and to enhance the accumulation of drugs in solid tumors via the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect as well as selective targeting of tumor cells Allen and Cullis 2013;Bozzuto and Molinari 2015). Nanocarriers also improve the solubility, bioavailability and pharmacokinetics properties of chemotherapeutics (Gregoriadis and Florence 1993;Bozzuto and Molinari 2015;Pattni et al 2015).…”

“…Nanocarriers have larger surface area as compared to bigger particles, which can be easily modified to encapsulate large amount of drug, to increase the blood circulation time and to enhance the accumulation of drugs in solid tumors via the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect as well as selective targeting of tumor cells Allen and Cullis 2013;Bozzuto and Molinari 2015). Nanocarriers also improve the solubility, bioavailability and pharmacokinetics properties of chemotherapeutics (Gregoriadis and Florence 1993;Bozzuto and Molinari 2015;Pattni et al 2015). Currently, a variety of nanocarriers such as liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, micelles, nanotubes, etc are already in the market, or under research and evaluation for cancer treatment (Sutradhar and Lutful 2014).…”