Advances in Research and Application of Liposomes

Liposome is a kind of bilayer lipid vesicles used as a drug carrier and prepared by lipid materials. It is a new type of drug carriers developed in recent years. Liposome can change the delivery performance of the drug in vivo, which leads to an increase in efficacy and a decrease in toxic and side effects, with such characteristics as targeting and lymphatic tropism, prolongation of drug blood circulation time, reduction in toxicity, and enhancement of stability. The main drug loading methods of liposome include film dispersion, reverse evaporation, solvent injection pH gradient, ammonium sulfate gradient, calcium acetate gradient, ionophore, calcium fusion method, and other improved methods suitable for large-scale production. At present, there are 16 types of original liposome drugs approved for marketing and over a thousand types approved for different phases of clinical trials by the drug regulatory agencies in the European Union and the United States. The major indications of approved liposome drugs are tumor, fungal infection, postoperative analgesia, etc. This article reviews the research and application progress of liposomes, aiming to provide reference for the research and development of liposome-based new drugs and the technological upgrading of the pharmaceutical industry.