Optimizing Druggability through Liposomal Formulations: New Approaches to an Old Concept

Developing innovative delivery strategies remains an ongoing task to improve both efficacy and safety of drug-based therapy. Nanomedicine is now a promising field of investigation, rising high expectancies for treating various diseases such as malignancies. Putting drugs into liposome is an old story that started in the late 1960s. Because of the near-total biocompatibility of their lipidic bilayer, liposomes are less concerned with the safety issue related to the possible long-term accumulation in the body of most nanoobjects currently developed in nanomedicine. Additionally, novel techniques and recent efforts to achieve better stability (e.g., through sheddable coating), combined with a higher selectivity towards target cells (e.g., by anchoring monoclonal antibodies or incorporating phage fusion protein), make new liposomal drugs an attractive and challenging opportunity to improve clinical outcome in a variety of disease. This review covers the physicochemistry of liposomes and the recent technical improvements in the preparation of liposome-encapsulated drugs in regard to the scientific and medical stakes.