Liposomes are a promising system for the delivery of drugs as they allow the encapsulation of both hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs. Several challenges need to be addressed to improve liposmal efficiency and to allow for their wider use as pharmaceuticals. Important areas of research are directed towards improving the encapsulation, manipulation of the liposomal fate due to the mononuclear phagocytic system, regulating the release of drugs, and improving delivery to target tissues. Factors such as the drug solubility in the lipid bilayer, interactions with lipids, size and composition of lipids, influence the retention of the drug in the liposome, so the encapsulation could be improved by adjusting lipid composition. Liposomes with hydrophilic polymer coatings circulate longer, and accumulate in target tissues and enter cells by phagocytosis and endocytosis, but are often degraded in lysosomes. In this thesis, we present the latest research and advances in liposome technology that allow to overcome these challenges and develop improved liposome formulations for a variety of medical applications.
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