LIPOSOMES: FROM CONCEPT TO COMMERCIALIZATION
Ramandeep Singh*, M. K. Kale and Atul Bodkhe
ABSTRACT
Liposomes are defined as phospholipid vesicles formed spontaneously by dispersion of lipid films in an aqueous environment to form particles with an aqueous interior surrounded by one or more concentric bilayers of phospholipids with a diameter ranging from ~30 nm to several microns. Liposomes can be composed of naturallyderived phospholipids with mixed lipid chains or surfactants. Although liposome formation is actually a spontaneous process, the current trend is to classify them into a class of pharmaceutical devices in the nanoscale range engineered by physical and/or chemical means and referred to as nanomedicines. Liposomes can be filled with drugs and used to deliver drugs for cancer and other diseases. Nanomedicines are a direct result of the application of nanotechnology to medicine and encompass molecular and supramolecular devices such as liposomes and other nanoparticulate carriers. Amongst the various carriers, few drug carriers reached the stages of clinical trials where phospholipid vesicles (liposome) show strong potential for effective drug delivery to the site of action. Strategies used to enhance liposome-mediated drug delivery in vivo include the enhancement of stability and circulation time in the bloodstream, targeting to specific tissues or cells and facilitation of intracytoplasmic delivery. As drug carriers, liposomes have great potential in that selective targeting and release rate control of drugs can be performed by appropriate modifications to the carrier itself, without altering the structure of original drugs. Selective targeting of liposomes to specific tissues such as hepatocytes, macrophages and tumors has been performed in vitro as well as in vivo.
Keywords: Liposomes, Phospholipids, Extrusion, High pressure homogenization.
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