Liposome application: problems and prospects

Liposomes are now in the marketplace as cosmeticeuticals and, more important, pharmaceuticals. Three major achievements of liposome application: steric stabilization, remote loading of drugs by pH and ion gradients, and lipoplexes based on complexes of cationic liposomes with anionic nucleic acids or proteins extended research toward liposome application and opened the way for development of a large spectrum of products. However, liposomology still faces major deficiencies including: lack of control over drug release rate; sufficient loading of drugs for which pH and ion gradients do not apply; lack of means to override biological barriers (i.e. skin, blood-brain barrier); therapeutically efficient active targeting; and for a broad spectrum of non-medical applications, cheaper suitable raw materials (lipids). Overcoming these deficiencies is the current challenge of research and development of liposome application. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.