ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on different types of liposome-based technology and depot polymeric scaffold technologies, various methods for embedding drug-loaded liposomes within a depot, and various approaches reported to control the rate of sustained drug release within depot systems over a prolonged period of time. The use of liposome for the delivery of DNA to the lung means that a greater understanding of their use in macromolecular delivery via inhalational route is emerging. The drug molecules can either be encapsulated in aqueous space or intercalated into the lipid bilayer. Liposomes are defined as “simple microscopic vesicles in which an aqueous volume is entirely enclosed by a membrane composed of lipid molecule.” Glycerol-containing phospholipids are most commonly used component of liposomal formulation. Most common Sphingolipids are Sphingomyelin, Glycosphingo lipids. Liposomes without cholesterol are known to interact rapidly with plasma protein such as albumin, transferrin, and macroglobulin. Stability of repulsive interactions with macromolecules is governed mostly by repulsive electrostatic forces.
