Liposomal Delivery of Antileishmanial Agents

Initially, the use of liposomes was mainly confined to model membrane systems, however, recently their use as vehicles for transfer of genetic and other materials into cells in cultures or for drug delivery to desired cellular and subcellular sites in a living system has been the subject of discussion. Liposomes can vary widely in size, chemical composition, and surface characteristics; they can accommodate a remarkable array of pharmacologically active substances, including antitumor and antimicrobial drugs, enzymes, hormones, and vaccines. Currently, specialized liposomes are prepared for site-specific delivery, which has led to considerable interest in the possibility of therapeutic use of liposomes. This paper describes different methods for modifying liposomal surfaces, so that these modified liposomes can be used as efficient macrophage specific drug carriers. Until drug specificity is achieved, liposomes, despite their limitations, will play an important role in optimizing drug action. INTRODUCTION As drug delivery-vehicles, liposomes are artificial phospholipid microcapsules where lipids are arranged in a concentric Basu-vol5no1 3/7/05 7:23 PM Page 221