Medical Breakthroughs From Liposomal Formulation

By Kristen Baird


Among the major areas of care fixated by people is their health. As such, advances in medicines are duly welcome and highly appreciated. Progress in research of various diseases and development of drugs to help curb them is always a good indicator. One such aspect of progress has been noted in liposomal formulation.

The process of this formulation was discovered 50 years ago. It came about as a solution to a problem of drugs taken orally being exhausted and digested before reaching the intended target areas. The liposomal way was deemed best suited since it was a favorable carrier to both hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs.

The simplicity of the liposomes' structural composition is key to its performance. They are made up of an aqueous solution which is engulfed in a strengthened mesh of either natural or synthetic phospholipids. The advantage of this is that it can fuse non-reactively with both hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs, each attaching to the element it does not react to.

Researchers have found the process of formation of these compounds may be critical to their performance. They are formed when strands of phospholipids are put in water, and a given heat amount is directed to them. The composition of the formed liposomes is tested against that of this drug it is intended to carry, so as to determine compatibility and avoid destructive reactions.

Advances like these have led to researchers getting further progress in the field. The most famous result being an anthracycline drug known as Doxorubicin, developed specifically to curb the spread of various variations of cancer. It inserts strains of base RNA and DNA into the malignant cells, and also the topoisomerase enzyme in later stages. This actively inhibits the spread of the disease.

Further research and development on cancer and other terminal ailments have had positive results, and the outcomes lauded by the medical community as well as the general public. Research and testing of liposomes as anti- cancer drug carriers has brought about drugs which are n testing. These include doxorubicin, , lipoplatin, paclitaxel, aroplatin and cisplatin.

There has been considerable progress in the development of vaccines for diseases which do not have known cures. Such include hepatitis A, which now has a vaccine, Epaxal, under development. Inflexal V is a vaccine developed for several types of influenza especially in children. A vaccine for cancer known as Stimuvax is also in the offering.

The use of liposomes as a carrier for dietary supplements is a newer idea that I undergoing further research. The idea is to use the same technique as the currently successful targeted drug delivery to deliver various supplements taken orally to specific areas in the body. This is however still undergoing research and testing. The use of liposomes in creation of various drugs and vaccines has led to a huge leap in terms of drug research and development. The process of the formulation has thus been lauded as wielding enormous potential for development of better medical solutions for a lot of persistent medical conditions.




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