eChapter Name: Different Methods of Drug Loading and Their Challenges
9789372190540
eBook Name: LIPOSOMAL DRUG DELIVERY: A NOVEL APPROACH FOR THERAPEUTICS
Introduction
Liposomes as Drug Delivery Vehicles
Liposomes, first described by Alec Bangham in 1961, are self-assembled vesicular structures composed of one or more lipid bilayers surrounding an aqueous core(Nakhaei et al., 2021). These lipid bilayers typically consist of natural or synthetic phospholipids, which can spontaneously form closed vesicles in an aqueous environment due to their amphiphilic nature. The resulting liposomal structure resembles a miniature cell membrane, with hydrophilic heads facing outward towards the aqueous environment and hydrophobic tails facing inward, forming the bilayer structure(Nogueira, Gomes, Preto, & Cavaco-Paulo, 2015). Liposomes are important in the field of drug delivery due to their unique structural properties, which enable them to encapsulate a wide range of therapeutic agents, including hydrophilic, hydrophobic, and amphiphilic compounds. (Guimarães, Cavaco-Paulo, & Nogueira, 2021) The size of liposomes can vary from tens to hundreds of nanometers, making them suitable for both systemic and targeted drug delivery applications. Liposomes can be formulated to exhibit specific properties such as prolonged circulation time, enhanced stability and targeted delivery.(Simões, Moreira, Fonseca, Düzgünes, & De Lima, 2004) The versatility of liposomes is due to their ability to encapsulate drugs within the aqueous core, embed drugs within the lipid bilayers, or attach drugs onto the liposomal surface through chemical conjugation or targeting ligands. This flexibility allows for the development of multifunctional liposomal formulations capable of encapsulating multiple drugs which facilitate combination therapy and theranostic applications.(Cheng et al., 2021; Eloy et al., 2014) Liposomes also offer several advantages over conventional drug delivery systems, including biocompatibility, biodegradability, and low immunogenicity. These characteristics minimize the risk of adverse reactions and systemic toxicity which makes the liposomes suitable for repeated dosing and long-term therapeutic applications.(Al-Jamal & Kostarelos, 2011; Alavi, Karimi, & Safaei, 2017; Goyal et al., 2005) However, liposomal drug delivery systems are also associated with several challenges which include issues related to stability, scalability, and manufacturing consistency.(Kraft, Freeling, Wang, & Ho, 2014)