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Liposomes in Drug Delivery: Status and Advances

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Liposome-Based Drug Delivery Systems

Part of the book series: Biomaterial Engineering ((BIOENG))

Abstract

Liposomal drug delivery system has made evident breakthrough and innovation in the fields of drug treatment. The objectives of this chapter are to briefly review the features, classification, major preparation materials and methods, and application of drug liposomes. Liposomes have shown excellent biocompatibility; are able to protect drug from direct exposure in blood system; are capable of carrying hydrophilic, hydrophobic, and amphipathic agents; and have targeting natures in human body. According to different targeting strategies, liposomes are classified into passive, active, and physicochemical targeting liposomes. The major materials of liposomes are phospholipids and cholesterol. The manufacturing technology of drug liposomes is becoming mature now, consisting of film dispersion, reverse-phase evaporation, chemical gradient loading, and the other encapsulation methods. Tens of drug liposomes have been approved for clinical use meanwhile a number of drug liposomes are undergoing clinical trial evaluations. During clinical trials and uses, the liposomes have been evidenced to have an optimal drug delivery efficiency and better efficacy, despite the anticancer drug liposomes may lead to new side effects like hand-foot syndrome. The drug liposomes can be enriched into the tumor site, hence demonstrating a better efficacy and a reduced adverse reaction such as cardiotoxicity. Besides, the liposomal formulations are capable of potentiating efficacy of anticancer drugs by circumventing multidrug resistance of cancers and cancer stem cells and by transferring drug across the blood-brain barrier (BBB). These new functions have been evidenced in laboratory observations but need further clinical evaluations. The review demonstrates that the liposomes are promising drug delivery systems in the fields of anticancer, anti-infection, pain management, etc.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, Beijing Key Laboratory of Molecular Pharmaceutics and New Drug System, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China

    Ying-Jie Hu & Wan-Liang Lu

  2. Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, Beijing, China

    Rui-Jun Ju

  3. Beijing Neurosurgical Institute, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China

    Fan Zeng

  4. Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmaceutical Science, Peking University, Beijing, China

    Xian-Rong Qi

  5. Beijing Key Laboratory of Molecular Pharmaceutics and New Drug System, Beijing, China

    Xian-Rong Qi

Authors
  1. Ying-Jie Hu
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  2. Rui-Jun Ju
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  3. Fan Zeng
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  4. Xian-Rong Qi
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  5. Wan-Liang Lu
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Correspondence to Xian-Rong Qi or Wan-Liang Lu .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Key Laboratory of Molecular Pharmaceutics and New Drug System, Beijing, China

    Wan-Liang Lu

  2. Department of Pharmaceutics School of Pharmaceutical Science, Peking University, Beijing, China

    Xian-Rong Qi

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Hu, YJ., Ju, RJ., Zeng, F., Qi, XR., Lu, WL. (2021). Liposomes in Drug Delivery: Status and Advances. In: Lu, WL., Qi, XR. (eds) Liposome-Based Drug Delivery Systems. Biomaterial Engineering. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-49320-5_1

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