Toxicological Issues Faced after Liposomes Administration

Juliana de Oliveira Silva and André Luís Branco de Barros*

Nanoparticles are defined as structures in nanometric range-often smaller than 100 nm [1-4]. These particles can be made of sundry materials, the most common being metals, metal oxides, silicates,  polymers, carbon, lipids and biomolecules. In addition, they can assume different shapes such as spheres, cylinders, platelets, tubes, etc. The study of these structures in living organisms, for diagnosis, monitoring physical and pathologic processes, therapy and control of biological systems is known as nanomedicine [1]. The study and development of these nanoparticles, mainly lipid carriers, has gained great notoriety for many uses, especially due to their potential as cytotoxic drugs carriers. Over the years, many lipid nanosystems have been developed and applied for different purposes. Liposomes are one of the most studied nanocarrier since Bangham and colleagues [5] reported their preparation in 1965. Afterwards, several kinds of enclosed phospholipid bilayer structures, formed by single bilayers, were described. In this scenario, Gregory Gregoriadis established a new concept that liposomes could entrap drugs, being promising drug delivery systems [6]. Moreover, other researchers showed that liposomes could change the in vivo distribution of entrapped drugs leading to better pharmacokinetics compared to free drugs [7-9]. As a result, these systems may have some advantages, such as the improvement of physicochemical characteristics of the drugs, the delivery to a specific site and controlled release of these molecules. These factors lead to a positive impact on the safety profile. Currently, there are over ten liposomal formulations approved for human use, apart from many preparations in advanced stage of clinical study [8].

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Published on: Sep 4, 2015 Pages: 3-4

Full Text PDF Full Text HTML DOI: 10.17352/ojpp.000002
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