A Review on Application and Types of Liposomes

Liposomes are spherical vesicles with a membrane composed of a phospholipid bi-layer and used to deliver drugs or genetic material into a cell. Research on liposome technology has progressed based on production in which long-circulating liposomes are obtained by modulating lipid composition، size، and charge of the vesicle. A significant step in the development of long circulating liposomes came with inclusion of the synthetic polymer poly-ethylene glycol in liposome composition. The presence of poly-ethylene glycol on the surface of the liposomal carrier has been shown to extend blood-circulation time while reducing mononuclear phagocyte system uptake، thus named stealth liposome. The advantages of liposomes include easy preparation and packaging of the exogenous DNA. Liposomal vectors are non viral and thus relatively nontoxic as compared to viral vectors; moreover، they can pass the blood-brain barrier. However، in this method، genes are not integrated into genome and low expression.