Abstract

After extensive work spanning more than half a century, liposomes have crossed the chasm and emerged as a prominent candidate in mainstream drug delivery. Post the historic launch of the first liposome-based drug, it is in the last three decades when liposome technology has slowly transformed from a research apparatus to a versatile drug carrier system influencing many biomedical areas. Liposomes have the ability to deliver a drug to a target site with the least amount of systemic toxicity by overcoming hurdles of cellular and tissue uptake, stabilizing therapeutic compounds, and improving biodistribution. They have been investigated for diverse applications such as treatment of cancer, delivery of gene and vaccine, treatment of lung and skin diseases, treatment of tumours, and imaging tumours at the site of infection. They are leading present-day smart delivery systems due to their flexible biophysical and physicochemical properties, which permit easy control to address different delivery concerns. This review will discuss various advances and updates in liposome-assisted drug delivery and the current clinical use of liposomes for biomedical applications.