Biocompatible Liposomes for Drug Delivery: Materials and Applications

A special issue of Pharmaceutics (ISSN 1999-4923). This special issue belongs to the section "Drug Delivery and Controlled Release".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 2524

Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of Bradford, Bradford, UK
Interests: drug delivery to the lung; formulations for dry powder inhalers; formulations for nebulisers; nanosuspension for inhaled
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of Bradford, Richmond Rd, Bradford BD7 1DP, UK
Interests: drug discovery; translational; medicine; molecular; genetics; pharmacology; hypertension; TGFbeta
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of Bradford, Bradford, UK
Interests: Inhalation; liposome; prodrug; nanomedicine (lipid carriers for drug delivery)

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Guest Editor Assistant
School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of Bradford, Bradford, UK
Interests: nanotechnology; formulation design and development; nanoliposomes; novel drug delivery systems; inhalable therapeutics; pharmacokinetics; translational medicine; biopharmaceutics; targeted drug delivery; smart drug delivery systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Liposomes are artificial self-assembled closed spherical bilayer systems made of phospholipids. Due to their biocompatibility, varied structure, composition and membrane-like properties, they are widely used for a variety of applications. These include enhancing bioavailability, sustained release, and targeted delivery in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry and offer a flexible solution to some of the crucial challenges faced by these industries. The added advantage is its ability to simultaneously deliver substances with varying solubility, i.e., hydrophobic and hydrophilic compounds. However, the use of liposomes is limited to some extent by shorter half-life, leakage, and fusion of the drugs during transport within the body, leading to poor targeting. Research in liposomes is fast expanding with the aim of developing new and efficient ways to overcome these challenges and open new horizons in therapeutics and cosmetics.

This Special Issue of Pharmaceutics will focus on the recent advances in the area of liposome delivery with reference to the following topics, but will not be limited to:

  • Biocompatibility and bioavailability;
  • Challenges of using liposomal drug delivery methods;
  • Liposomes and cancer therapeutics;
  • Liposomes and cosmetic preparations;
  • Liposomes for pulmonary delivery;
  • Liposomes for gene therapy and vaccines;
  • Novel liposomal delivery methods.

Dr. Khaled Assi
Dr. Talat Nasim
Dr. Rajendran C. Gopalan
Guest Editors

Dr. Fatma Haddad
Guest Editor Assistant

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Keywords

  • inhalation
  • liposome
  • prodrug
  • nanomedicine (lipid carriers for drug delivery)
  • biocompatible liposomes

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 4620 KB  
Article
The Combination of Immunomodulatory Secretome and Liposome-Bound TRAIL Improves Knee Osteoarthritis Symptoms in an Ovine Model
by Joaquín Marco-Brualla, Felícito García-Álvarez, Sara Fuente, Pablo Fernández, Arantza Vitoria, Francisco José Vázquez, Juan Pedro Lapuente-Fernández, Luis Martínez-Lostao, Antonio Romero and Alberto Anel
Pharmaceutics 2026, 18(2), 193; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics18020193 - 2 Feb 2026
Viewed by 795
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Knee osteoarthritis stands as the highest prevalent joint disease worldwide, affecting millions of adults and significantly impairing mobility and quality of life. Pro-inflammatory cells and cytokines are considered key players in the pathophysiology of the disease. In previous work, two anti-inflammatory [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Knee osteoarthritis stands as the highest prevalent joint disease worldwide, affecting millions of adults and significantly impairing mobility and quality of life. Pro-inflammatory cells and cytokines are considered key players in the pathophysiology of the disease. In previous work, two anti-inflammatory therapeutic approaches were developed: a secretome enriched in anti-inflammatory cytokines, and nanoliposome-bound TRAIL (LUV-TRAIL), with proven efficacy against rheumatoid arthritis in rabbits. Methods: In this work, we evaluated the ability of these treatments to prevent the development of osteoarthritis (OA) in an ovine model following meniscectomies. Two weeks after the surgeries, knees were treated with several rounds of single or combined therapy, and then sheep were left untreated for several months. Knee damage was followed by X-ray analysis and, after sacrifice, assessed through macroscopic inspection, histological determinations, and inflammatory cytokine measurements. Results: The combined therapy had a significant positive effect against osteoarthritis development. Specifically, the combination is capable of improving knee injury in the first stages of OA in several parameters, such as synovial hyperplasia and tibial plateau damage, which are two of the most frequently damaged areas. Other markers, such as synovial inflammation and X-ray and macroscopic images, also presented a tendency to improved scores. Conclusions: The combination of the secretome with LUV-TRAIL represents a promising therapy worth exploring further in osteoarthritis treatment and/or prevention. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biocompatible Liposomes for Drug Delivery: Materials and Applications)
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23 pages, 9113 KB  
Article
A Biomimetic Macrophage-Membrane-Fused Liposomal System Loaded with GVs-HV Recombinant Plasmid for Targeted Anti-Atherosclerosis Therapy
by Yuelin Zhang, Wenting Gu, Kailing Yu, Qihong Chen, Hong Wang, Yinghui Wei, Hangsheng Zheng, Hongyue Zheng, Lin Liu and Fanzhu Li
Pharmaceutics 2025, 17(12), 1618; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics17121618 - 16 Dec 2025
Viewed by 1063
Abstract
Background: Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. The presence of atherosclerotic plaques in the arteries leads to continuous growth and obstruction of blood vessels, which ultimately leads to acute myocardial infarction and sudden cardiac death. Ultrasound-triggered GVs cavitation [...] Read more.
Background: Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. The presence of atherosclerotic plaques in the arteries leads to continuous growth and obstruction of blood vessels, which ultimately leads to acute myocardial infarction and sudden cardiac death. Ultrasound-triggered GVs cavitation has great potential in plaque treatment due to its noninvasive nature and safety. Methods: In this work, we constructed a Hirudin–Gas Vesicle Recombinant Plasmid to achieve gene delivery using macrophage membrane/lipid membrane fusion bio-vesicles. Results: The bio-fusion vesicles retained the macrophage membrane protein integrin α4β1 to combine with vascular adhesion molecules highly expressed by inflammatory cells to achieve delivery; the Hirudin–Gas Vesicle Recombinant Plasmid could escape lysosomes and enter the nucleus to achieve highly efficient transfection; Hirudin and Gas Vesicles are exocytosed through cleavage peptide and exocytosis peptide, respectively; their pharmacological effects are linked and complementary. Gas vesicles can break up lesion plates with the assistance of in vitro ultrasound, and Hirudin achieves fragment ablation and anti-inflammatory and lipid regulation. Conclusions: GVs-HV@MM-Lipo exerts potent anti-atherosclerotic and anti-inflammatory effects with favorable safety. GVs-HV@Lipo reduces mice aortic arch plaque area by 17%, while GVs-HV@MM-Lipo+US achieves further plaque regression and improved hemodynamics. Our work opens up a new paradigm in the treatment of atherosclerosis with Chinese medicine. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biocompatible Liposomes for Drug Delivery: Materials and Applications)
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