In vivo fate of liposomes: Biodistribution and cell membrane interactions

Liposomes have been extensively investigated since their discovery in the 1960s and continue to be a focus of significant research. Due to their technological and biological advances, liposomes are considered to be the most effective drug-carrier system to date. Liposomes have significantly progressed due to their distinctive properties i.e., biodegradability and biocompatibility. Liposomes have been demonstrated to be beneficial in overcoming obstacles in cell and tissue absorption, stabilizing the encapsulated drug, and enhancing the biodistribution of the therapeutic compound in vivo at the desired site. The physiochemical characteristics of drugs encapsulated in liposomes, such as lipid composition, particle size, surface charge, surface modifications, administered dose, route of administration, and biological challenges like reticuloendothelial system (RES), opsonization, enhanced permeability and retention effect, ABC phenomenon, and CARPA effect, greatly influences the in vivo behavior of the liposomal formulations. This chapter highlights the impact of these liposomal characteristics on their pharmacokinetics, along with a brief summary of various mechanisms of liposomal cell uptake. Also, the translational obstacles of liposome technology and the clinical use of liposomes for biomedical applications have been provided.