Composition design and medical application of liposomes

Liposomes, which possess the properties of nano-scale, biofilm similar structure, excellent biocompatibility, become more and more useful in the drug development as the delivery system. Liposomes are relatively stable, their aqueous phase could contain the hydrophilic drugs and their phospholipid bilayer should localize the lipophilic drugs. Moreover, their surface-modifiable characteristics have really extended the liposomes' application to targeting and environmental sensitive delivery system. In order to make the common liposome more fit the human and animal body's complex environment, the structural variation strategy in the head, tail and bond of lipid molecules have been employed to develop the different functionalized liposomes-based drug delivery system for the localizable relieve and organ/tissue targeting relieve. In this paper, we would like to summarize the recent development on the design and optimization of liposomes, including Long-circulation liposomes, Specific active targeting liposomes, Environmental sensitive liposomes, Multifunctional liposomes, and so on. And the liposome content selection and current status of clinical application are systematically discussed.