Preparation and characterization of liposomes as therapeutic delivery systems: a review

Liposome drug delivery systems are being developed for a variety of drugs. Scale-up process to larger size batches is often a monumental task for the process development scientists. This article reviews various aspects of process development work pertinent to aseptic process techniques for liposomes. This article also has discussed the bilayer properties of liposomes and showed the nomenclature used to classify the liposomes. Discussed is the pH gradient method to load liposomes. Issues and challenges involved in prolonging the shelf-life of liposomes is presented. This review covered the importance of complete removal of organic solvent that is used in the process. Finally the authors presented an HPLC method for quick identification and assay of various phospholipids in a mixture of phospholipids.