Liposomes classification

Liposomes represent an important class of carrier vehicles other than polymers for drug delivery. This paper provides an introduction and general review of liposomes with emphasis on their classifications, their constituent materials, their preparation and characterizaton, and their stability and biodistribution in the body. Liposomes with specific characteristics are also described in this general introduction. 

Liposomes are formed due to the amphiphilic character of lipids which assemble into bilayers by the force of hydrophobic interaction. Similar assemblies of lipids form microspheres when neutral lipids, such as triglycerides, are dispersed with phospholipids. Liposomes are conventionally classified into three groups by their morphology, i.e., multilamellar vesicle (MLV), small unilamellar vesicle (SUV), and large unilamellar vesicle (LUV). This classification of liposomes is useful when liposomes are used as models for biomembranes. However, when liposomes are used as capsules for drugs, size and homogeneity of the liposomes are more important than the number of lamellars in a liposome. Therefore, "sized" liposomes are preferred. These are prepared by extrusion through a polycarbonate... 

Tab. 4.9 Drug classification data and biosensor results from POPC and POPC/GM1 liposomes. (Reprinted from Tab. 1 of ref. 40 with permission from the American Chemical Society)...

In the following, lipid-based systems for oral drug delivery of peptides and proteins have been classified into liposomes and emulsions, although the distinction between these classifications is somewhat vague. 

The most important and typical enzymes that function at lipid-water interfaces in micelles, liposomes, emulsions, etc., are lipases. Lipases are carboxylic ester hydrolases and have been termed glycerol ester hydrolases (EC3.1.1.3) in the international system of classification. They differ greatly as regards both their origins (bacterial, fungal, plant, mammalian, etc.) and their properties, and they can catalyze the synthesis as well as the hydrolysis of a wide range of different carboxylic esters. Numerous reports have appeared about the structure and function of pancreatic lipases, because they are ubiquitous in mammalian species and play important roles in dietary fat absorption [29,30]. In this part, I will describe a structural feature and its relation to catalytic mechanism at the interfaces of lipases, particularly pancreatic lipases. 

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