REVIEW: “Smart” Liposomal Nanocontainers in Biology and Medicine

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Y. S. Tarahovsky

Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Biophysics, Russian Academy of Sciences, 142290 Pushchino, Moscow Region, Russia, fax: (4967) 330-553; E-mail: tarahov@rambler.ru

Received November 23, 2009

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The perspectives of using liposomes for delivery of drugs to desired parts of the human body have been intensively investigated for more than 30 years. During this time many inventions have been suggested and different kinds of liposomal devices developed, and a number of them have reached the stages of preclinical or clinical trials. The latest techniques can be used to develop biocompatible nano-sized liposomal containers having some abilities of artificial intellect, such as the presence of sensory and responsive units. However, only a few have been clinically approved. Further improvements in this area depend on our knowledge of the interactions of drugs with the lipid bilayer of liposomes. Further studies on liposomal transport through the human body, their targeting of cells requiring therapeutic treatment, and finally, the development of techniques for controlled drug delivery to desired acceptors on cell surfaces or in cytoplasm are still required.

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KEY WORDS: liposomes, intellectual nanocontainers, drugs targeting, nanomedicine

DOI: 10.1134/S0006297910070023

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