Friday, February 8, 2013

Liposome Allows The Best Drug Delivery Way

By Gabrielle Lambert


Liposome is designed to deliver drugs very effectively. It is made as an artificial cell, and it is useful in medicine in many different ways. There are three basic types of liposomes; MLV means multilamillar vesicle, and SUV and LUV are unilamellar vesicles, small and large ones. They have very specific spherical shape and high drug delivery efficacy. They can be designed for oral use, or in form of lotions, creams or patches. You can also inhale them in form of dry spray or nasal spray, or take them intravenously.

There are so many fields where they can be used, for example in food industry, agriculture or cosmetology. They are highly efficient carriers of all types of enzymes and supplements, and thanks to the fact they are actually very similar to the real cells, they have very high biocompatibility, comparing to any other carrier. It lowers the chances for different side effects, as well as improving the diffusion and absorption of the particular drug.

A liposome is actually very small bubble made of phospholipids, just like a cell membrane is built. They have a natural ability to target the exact area where needed, for example cancer. They can find and enter tumor sites, and release their content when in there. Tumor cells have different level of seals between cells, and liposomes can penetrate through their membranes.

They can carry pieces of DNA, delivering genes to cells as well. They protect DNA from degrading processes and can be targeted to specific tissues. Thanks to their bi-layered membranes, they are able to carry both positively and negatively charged molecules. Bubbles can be hydrophilic or lipophilic, or have both characteristics, according to specific needs.

The method of delivering can highly affect the final drug absorbing. Various anticancer drugs will show much higher efficacy if this carrier method is used. Drug circulation is significantly prolonged, and the retention potential become much higher. Hydrolysis and drug solubility may affect the drug effectiveness, and this way this problem can be easily solved.

It is proven that different pills and capsules taken orally just lose their effectiveness due to gastric system and some other related problems. Thanks to that, the level of absorption is much lower than it should be. Liposomes are very useful for taking dietary and nutritional supplements, because they significantly improve the absorption of those nutrients, making them more effective.

Dietary and nutritional supplements can be carried within these small capsules to all targeting areas. Both lipophilic and hydrophilic nutritive supplements are effectively protected within those bubbles, and gastric system cannot harm them. Capsules ensure very high level of drug absorbtion, making those nutrients much more effective.

Nano liposomes are even smaller than those mentioned before, and have significantly higher efficacy. Of course, different factors affect the final quality, for example, the material used in process of production, the latest technology, size and some other conditions. The most important thing is to produce the adequate version for each particular purpose. In conclusion, liposome might change the drug industry very soon.




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