Application of Various Types of Liposomes in Drug Delivery Systems

• Published in: Advanced pharmaceutical bulletin 2017-04, Vol.7 (1), p.3-9
• Main Authors: Alavi, Mehran, Karimi, Naser, Safaei, Mohsen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Drug delivery system; Drug delivery systems; Hydrophobic drugs; Lipids; Liposomes; Methods; Pharmaceutical industry; Phospholipid
• ISSN: 2228-5881; 2251-7308
• DOI: 10.15171/apb.2017.002

Article info Article History : Received: 18 August 2016 Revised: 17 February 2017 Accepted: 22 February 2017 ePublished: 13 April 2017 Keywords: * Liposomes * Hydrophobic drugs * Phospholipid * Drug delivery system Abstract Liposomes, due to their various forms, require further exploration. Introduction In the late nineteenth century, German bacteriologist Paul Ehrlich, used the term "magic bullet," which means chemical carriers that have the property of selectivity in killing abnormal cells without any effect on the normal ones.1 In order to improve this specificity through drug delivery systems, there are a variety of different approaches, which are based on a number of physical and bio-chemical principles.2 Liposomes, as carrier systems, have been explored more than any than other system as a result of their various forms. About four decades ago, Bangham and co-workers defined liposomes as vesicles with small size and spherical shapes that can be generated from phospholipids, cholesterols, non-toxic surfactants and even membrane protein. Two important advantages of liposomes, in drug delivery of living organisms, are biocompatibility and biodegradability, which are due to lipid characteristics.6 Different types of lipids and amphiphiles can act as liposomes (Table 1); furthermore, polymers can be used for the synthesis of polymerosomes as new drug/gene carriers. Liposomes Preparation There are several approaches for preparation of liposomes, which include the use of mechanical procedures, organic solvents, or through the removal of detergent from phospholipid/detergent micelle mixtures. [...]each lipid component is dissolved in the organic solvent separately, followed by mixing in the suitable proportion...