Proliposomes for oral delivery: progress and challenges

Proliposomes are phospholipid based drug delivery systems that are finding important applications in the field of pharmaceutics. Proliposomes have been extensively studied as a potential carrier for oral delivery of drugs with poor bioavailability, but the mechanism of absorption and cellular uptake pathways has not yet been clearly understood. An in-depth insight into the physical and biological behavior of proliposomes is necessary for designing an effective delivery system for enhancing the availability of drug at the intended site. Reformulation of sub optimal drugs using proliposomes has given an opportunity to improve the therapeutic indices of various drugs predominantly by altering their uptake mechanism. This work reviews the proliposomal drug delivery field, summarizes the success of proliposomes for the oral delivery of drugs with poor bioavailability; indicating the key issues to be addressed to affirm that proliposomes can effectively work as a drug carrier in clinical settings with a clear understanding of its behavior in biological environment, as they are now an established platform technology with considerable clinical acceptance.