Liposomal targeting and drug delivery: Kinetic consideration

As drug carriers, liposomes have great potential in that selective targeting and release rate control of drugs can be performed by appropriate modifications to the carrier itself, without altering the structure of original drugs. In this paper, factors determining the disposition of liposomes were discussed in relation to the underlying mechanisms. Selective targetings of liposomes to specific tissues such as hepatocytes, macrophages and tumors were also evaluated based on the in vitro as well as in vivo data. Finally, the perspective of intracellular drug delivery was also discussed from the mechanistic as well as kinetic points of view for the development of intracellular targetable drug carriers.