Liposomal carriers development

The aim of this study was the development of a liposomal carrier system able to deliver antigen and adjuvant into DCs in order to activate the immune system for killing tumor cells. 

Fraley, R., and Papahadjopoulos, D. Liposomes The development of a new carrier system for introducing nucleic acid into plant and animal cells. Curr. Top. Microbiol. Immunol. 96 171—191, 1982. 

Liposomes represent highly versatile drag carriers, offering almost infinite possibilities to alter structural and physicochemical characteristics. This feature of versatility enables the formulation scientist to modify liposomal behaviour in vivo and to tailor liposomal formulations to specific therapeutic needs. It has taken two decades to develop the liposome carrier concept to a pharmaceutical product level, but commercial preparations are now available in important disease areas and many more formulations are currently undergoing clinical trials. Examples of the different applications and commercial products of various types of liposomal systems are given below. 

Van Rooyen, N. (1988). Liposomes as immunological adjuvants Recent developments, in Liposomes as Drug Carriers Recent Trends and Progress (G. Gregoriadis, ed.), John Wiley and Sons, New York, pp. 159-167. 

The most important application recently developed for synthetic liposomes is as potential drug carriers for controlled release, especially for cancer chemotherapy (7). In general, the success of liposomes as vehicles for the transport of specific drugs will largely depend on their stability under physiological conditions. Unlike the naturally occurring membranes, the synthetic vesicles have very limited stability, and this is a... 

Tumor tissues overexpress matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). A liposomal pDNA carrier (MEND) was developed containing PEG conjugated to lipid via a peptide linker that is a target sequence for MMPs. In this strategy, PEG is removed from the carrier via MMP-triggered cleavage [198]. Intravenous administration in... 

Liposomes are membrane-based supramolecular particles that consist of a number of concentric lipid membrane bilayers separated by aqueous compartments (Figure 13.15). They were developed initially as carriers for therapeutic drugs. Initially, the bilayers were almost exclusively phospholipid based. More recently, non-phospholipid-based liposomes have been developed. 

Progress in the field of drug targeting has been slow till thirty years ago. With the advent of the monoclonal antibody technology in the mid seventies of the last century as well as the development of liposomal devices as carriers did the drug targeting field expand and did the clinical application become a feasible aim. 

Liposomes are colloidal particles that can be prepared with (phospho)-lipid molecules derived from either natural sources or chemical synthesis (recently reviewed by Lian and Ho [14]). The potential application of liposomes as biodegradable or biocompatible drug carriers to enhance the potency and reduce the toxicity of therapeutic agents was recognized in 1960. In the 1960s and 1970s various methods for liposome preparation were developed as... 

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