Anticancer drugs in liposomal nanodevices: a target delivery for a targeted therapy

Abstract

For many years, nanocarriers have been investigated to modify pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of various active molecules. In the cancer domain, one of the biggest challenges still remains the improvement of the therapeutic index, often too low, for the majority of antitumor drugs. The application of nanotechnologies for the treatment and the diagnosis of cancers are nowadays currently developed, or under development, and liposomes play an important role in the history of nanodevices. Because of their high degree of biocompatibility, lipid nanosystems have been used to improve pharmacological profiles of various anticancer drugs otherwise discarded because of their low water solubility, poor bioavailability or either fragile and subjected to rapid biotransformations. This review aims at introducing an overview of the last 40 years of liposome researches until the last liposomal formulations commercially available or undergoing clinical trials. Liposome properties will be described, with a particular emphasis over the last generation of carriers appreciated for their active targeting characteristics. Researchers foresee a remarkable impact of nanotechnologies in the field of medicine; this review will try to summarize the main concepts over liposome domain, which can count on encouraging results as target therapy associated with targeted delivery.