Liposomes as Drug Delivery Systems: Properties and Applications

Liposomes are polymeric nanoparticles used for drug delivery due to their unique properties. Lipisomes can encapsulate both hydrophobic and hydrophilic drug. liposomes deliver the drugs into cells by fusion or endocytosis mechanisms. In the last few decades, liposomes have been considered as ideal models for mimic biological membranes and also they are suitable carriers for drugs, diagnostics, vaccines, and other bioactive agents. Drugs can be distributed non-specifically throughout the body, lead to death of normal and malignant cells. Entrapment of drugs into liposomes results in increasing circulation life time, protection from the metabolic degradation, enhancement of deposition in the infected tissues and decreased uptake in the kidney, myocardium and brain. There are now some liposomal formulations of conventional drugs that have received clinical approval.