General properties and production technologies of liposomes

Abstract

With its general definition, liposomes are lipid vesicles with a bilayer membrane structure consisting of two parts, hydrophilic and hydrophobic. Considering the similarity with the cell membrane of liposomes, which are mostly composed of phospholipids, it is seen that their biological compatibility is high. The liposome beads are capable of simultaneously encapsulating the hydrophobic and/or hydrophilic active. By delivering the active ingredients added to the liposome structure to the targeted area with high efficiency, they have widespread use in medical applications for therapeutic purposes. Liposomes can provide active and remote loading while protecting the active ingredients in their structure from the undesirable effects of external conditions. When the clinical usage areas of liposomes are examined, it is seen that they are one of the successful delivery systems and they are actively used by different disciplines. It has widespread usage areas especially in pharmaceutical applications due to its advantages such as not showing toxic tendencies and easy determination of chemical contents. Liposome production is commonly carried out by two different methods. The first method is carried out by forming a thin lipid layer in film hydration, and the second method is by adding lipids to the aqueous phase at transition temperature during appropriate hydration and mixing. This review article, it is aimed to examine the production technologies of liposomes and their common usage areas and potential usage areas. However, considering the general use of liposomes, physical and chemical stability problems limit their use and lay the groundwork for the development of new technologies.