Chlorogenic acid loaded niosomes and proniosomes: in vitro antioxidant and antibacterial activities with efficacy in wound healing / 数字中医药（英文）

@#【Objective】  To develop and optimize niosomal and proniosomal vesicular delivery systems for a naturally occurring polyphenol chlorogenic acid (CGA), so as to improve its physicochemical properties and permeability, which may enhance its pharmacological activity. 【Methods】   The formulated CGA niosomes (CGANs) and CGA proniosomes (CGAPNs) were primed by thin film hydration and phase separation coacervation methods, and were characterized with different attributes including particle size, morphology, entrapment efficiency, zeta potential, deformability, in vitro diffusion, ex vivo permeability, and long-term stability. Their efficiency was further evaluated with in vitro antioxidant assay, antibacterial assays, and excision wound healing model in rats. 【Results】  Optimized CGANs and CGAPNs showed spherical vesicles with particle size of 490.1 ± 43.0 and 280.0 ± 22.0 nm, polydispersity index (PDI) values of 0.526 and 0.173, and stable zeta potential values of - 29.3 ± 6.4 and - 33.2 ± 6.5 mV, respectively. The CGANs and CGAPNs vesicles showed higher entrapment (98.27% ± 0.46% & 97.27% ± 0.25%) with good deformability (8.77 ± 0.22 & 6.87 ± 0.17), higher in vitro diffusion (97.96% ± 1.67% & 91.00% ± 1.32%), and permeability coefficient values (67 ×10-3 ± 1.72 & 52 ×10-3 ± 1.09) with long-term stability in comparison with plain CGA. Enhanced 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging and Fe2 + chelation ability was obtained with CGAPNs > CGANs. They also demonstrated lethal bactericidal activity on different gram positive and gram negative strains with lower minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values (8 ×  and 16 ×  times less) as compared with plain CGA. Significant reduction (P < 0.05) in wound area with higher wound contraction percentages on day 9 was observed with CGANPs (99.56%) > CGANs (98.44%) in comparison with marketed (92.89%) and CGA (88.89%) hydrogel. 【Conclusion】  These results show great potential of CGANs and CGAPNs for topical wound healing application. This is the first study of CGA in niosomal and proniosomal topical delivery systems.

Fabrication of Non-Ionic Surfactant Vesicular Gel for Effective Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a chronic, inflammatory auto immune disorder with unknown aetiology. Though various efficacious treatment options are currently available to treat RA, failure to cure is unpredictable. Hence the present study aimed to evaluate Piroxicam (PC) loaded non-ionic surfactant vesicular carrier as transdermal patches. MethodsTransdermal patches of PC- niosomes were formulated by solvent casting method using different polymers. The prepared formulation was examined for physico - chemical and morphological characteristics and drug release studies were performed by Franz diffusion cell method. ResultsThe results of physico-chemical characterizations show that all formulations were with optimum range and morphological characterization shows that the prepared niosomes are spherical in shape. Drug release characteristic of all formulations was performed and the result exhibits that formulation TN4 (PC encapsulated niosomal gel transdermal patch) shows highest % drug release (95.13%) when compared to other formulation. The release data was fitted with release kinetics and results shows zero order with non Fickian diffusion mechanism. ConclusionsPC encapsulated vesicular carrier as transdermal patches is a promising drug delivery system to enhance the solubility of poorly soluble drugs. It also enhances the residence time of drug at absorption site. Hence this approach could be beneficial for the effective management of RA.

In Vitro In Vivo Evaluation Of Niosomal Formulation Of Famotidine

Objective: The present study was aimed on formulation and evaluation of famotidine loaded niosomal formulation for in vitro and in vivo pharmacokinetic behaviour. Formulating it as niosomal formulation might be quite advantageous for prolonging the duration of pharmacological action and improved bioavailability. Methods: In the present study niosomal formulations were prepared by using most documented thin film hydration technique by using various grades of surfactants (span 20, 40, 60, 80) in varying ratios with cholesterol, negative charge inducer di cetyl phosphate (DCP) and drug famotidine. Suitable preformulation studies were conducted like identification of drug, excipient and drug compatibility study. The optimized drug loaded niosomes were characterized for size and morphology, polydispersity index, zeta potential, drug entrapment, in vitro release, in vivo study and stability study. Results: The results showed that the vesicles formed were spherical in shape, size ranging between 160.1 nm to 718.7 nm with zeta potential values indicating good stability and formulation containing span 60 (NMS7) showed the highest entrapment efficiency (73.234%). All the formulations showed prolonged release profile for more than 24 h with release kinetics better suited to zero order release pattern. In vivo study conducted on rabbits predicted a fourfold increase in pharmacokinetic parameter (area under curve)AUC and pharmacological action for more than 24 h as compared to free drug famotidine which showed its action only upto 12 h. Conclusion: Thus the famotidine loaded niosomal formulation may be considered as a very promising drug delivery system which could be successfully employed for prolonging the drug release and overcoming the drawbacks of conventional drug delivery systems.

Niosomes and liposomes as promising carriers for dermal delivery of Annona squamosa extract

The leaf extract of Annona squamosa L. has antibacterial, antidiabetic, antioxidant, and anticancerous activities. The present work aims to compare between liposomes and niosomes as carriers for A. squamosa extract to improve its transdermal bioavailability. Physical characterization for niosomes and liposomes was performed using: transmission electron microscope (TEM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). In addition, the encapsulation efficiency for A. squamosa in both carriers was evaluated and in-vitro drug release experiments were performed. The results proved the potential of both carriers to penetrate the outer layer of the skin (stratum corneum) which is considered as a strong barrier against the diffusion of many compounds through the skin. Moreover, the results pointed out that niosomes and liposomes lasted long time through the skin, which ensures the presence of antioxidant extract in the skin for prolonged periods. This would have a benefit of targeting free radicals in the skin. The encapsulation efficiency of liposomes for A. squamosa extract exceeded that of niosomes, however, niosomes demonstrated longer time of drug release through the skin. In conclusion, niosomes and liposomes are promising carriers for dermal delivery of the antioxidant extract Annona squamosa.

Formulation And Evaluation Of Controlled Release Maintenance Dose Loaded Niosomes Of Anti-Hypertensive Drug

The present study was aimed to formulate, comparatively evaluate and optimize multiple lipid drug carriers of valsartan for oral controlled release to overcome the problems associated with the drug such as bioavailability, to reduce the dosage regimen, half life and to determine the appropriateness of niosomal formulation as a drug carrier. Ether injection method was chosen for the formulation of physically and chemically stable niosomes of valsartan. The formulation and process parameters were optimized by manufacturing placebo niosomes. Than drug loaded niosome was prepared by varying the concentration of span 60. The prepared nine formulations were evaluated for various parameters. Placebo niosomes were evaluated for appearance, odour, texture, creaming volume, pH and changes after 15 days. The medicated nine formulations were evaluated for organoleptic properties (appearance/color, odour), pH, total drug content, entrapment efficiency, mean particle size and polydispersibility index, zeta potential and In-vitro drug release. All formulations were off-white in color, odourless, and fluid in nature. It was stable and did not show sedimentation. The pH was found to be in the range of 4.6-5.4. Drug content was found in the range of 89.13 to 99.52. The Entrapment efficiency was found in range of 79.05 to 98.24. The mean vesicle size of drug loaded niosomes of the different batches ranged between 2.52-3.42μm. The polydispersvity index was in the range of 0.325 to 0.420 which indicates a narrow vesicle size distribution. The values of zeta potential were in the range of -20.29 mV to -30.55 mV which indicates that niosome had sufficient charge and mobility to inhibit aggregation of vesicles. All the nine formulations shows constant drug release in controlled manner up to 24 h. Formulation V7 was considered to be the best formulation as the % drug content (99.52 ± 0.97), % entrapment efficiency (98.24 ± 1.50) and % drug release at the end of 24th h (98.55) were high for V7. The optimized formulation V7 showed higher degree of correlation coefficient (r2) 0.9805 which indicates process of constant drug release from dosage form. The present study concludes that the prepared niosome is a convenient and efficiency carrier for the delivery of antihypertensive drug. Besides this, it provided controlled delivery of drug.

A Novel Niosomal Combination of Selenium Coupled with Glucantime against Leishmania tropica

There is no effective treatment modality available against different forms of leishmaniasis. Therefore, the aim of this study was to improve the penetration and efficacy of selenium and glucantime coupled with niosomes and compared them with their simple forms alone on in vitro susceptibility assays. In this study, the niosomal formulations of selenium and in combination with glucantime were prepared. The size and morphology of the niosomal formulations were characterized and the effectivity of the new formulation was also evaluated using in vitro MTT assay, intra-macrophage model, and gene expression profile. From the results obtained, no cytotoxicity effect was observed for niosomal and simple forms of drugs, as alone or in combination. Niosomal formulations of the drugs significantly showed more inhibitory effects (P≤0.001) than the simple drugs when the selectivity index was considered. The gene expression levels of Interleukin (IL-10) significantly decreased, while the level of IL-12 and metacaspase significantly increased (P≤0.001). The results of the present study showed that selenium plus glucantime niosome possess a potent anti-leishmanial effect and enhanced their lethal activity as evidenced by the in vitro experiments.

In vivo and in vitro correlation of azithromycin cationic micron niosomes / 中国药理学通报

Aim To evaluate the correlation between in vitro release and in vivo absorption of azithromycin cat-ionic micron niosomes (ACMNS)by Wagner-Nelson method and deconvolution method. Methods The in vitro release behavior of ACMNS was studied by dy-namic membrane dialysis. After a single dose of intra-gastric administration with ACMNS and AM in rats,the AM concentrations in plasma were determined by high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC). Wagner-Nelson and deconvolution method were used to reveal the in vitro / in vivo correlation. Results X used as cu-mulative in vitro release and Fa as the absorption per-centage,the regression equation was established:F a =3. 0524X - 5. 7709,r = 0. 8976,and X used as cumu-lative in vitro release and R as input function,the re-gression equation was established:R = 2. 3413X -58. 687,r = 0. 5217. r < r( 2,0. 05) = 0. 9500 (P <0. 05). Conclusion There is no correlation between in vitro release and in vivo absorption of ACMNS.

Application of New Carriers in Transdermal Drug Delivery System / 中国药师

Compared with traditional oral administration and parenteral administration, transdermal administration has such fea-tures as convenient application, high local drug concentration and strong security. This paper reviewed the composition, characteristics and applications of new carriers ( microemulsions, ethosomes, transfersomes, niosomes, proliposomes, gels and so on) in transdermal drug delivery system with increased drug transdermal transport efficiency in recent years. The advantages of the new transdermal drug delivery carriers make them possess high research value and broad development space.

Preparation of glycyrrhetinic acid niosomes and optimization of its prescription process / 中草药

Objective: With nonionic surfactants as the carrier material to prepare glycyrrhetinic acid (GC) niosomes (NI) and to evaluate the quality. Methods: The thin film dispersion-ultrasound method was used for establishing the preparation process of GC - NI, reverse dialysis method and ultraviolet spectrophotometer method were used to determine the encapsulation efficiency (EE), the prescription and preparation process were optimized through single factor and central composite design-response surface methodology (CCD-RSM), and the properties of morphology, particle size, Zeta potential, and EE in optimized NI were investigated. Results: The optimum prescription process as Span 80-cholesterol was 2:1, hydration temperature was 70℃, hydration time was 51 min, ultrasonic time was 60 min, its forecast EE was 80.66%, bias between the observed and predicted values was 4.95%, and regression coefficient of binomial fitting complex model was as high as 0.989 9. Conclusion: CCD-RSM is used to optimize the preparation, which has the stable, feasible, high precision, and good predictability advantage.

Formulation design and characterization of a non-ionic surfactant based vesicular system for the sustained delivery of a new chondroprotective agent

Diacerein is used for symptomatic relief and cartilage regeneration in osteoarthritis. Due to gastrointestinal side effects, poor aqueous solubility and low bioavailability, its clinical usage has been restricted. The objective of the present study was to enhance its dissolution profile and to attain sustained release by designing a novel delivery system based on niosomes. Five niosomal formulations (F1-F5) with non-ionic surfactant (sorbitan monostearate) and cholesterol in varying ratios of 5:5, 6:4, 7:3, 8:2 and 9:1 were developed by the reverse-phase evaporation technique. The size and polydispersivity index (PDI) were found in the range of 0.608 µm to 1.010 µm and 0.409 to 0.781, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the selected formulation (F3) revealed spherical vesicles, and 79.8% entrapment was achieved with F3 (7:3). Dissolution studies using the dialysis method showed sustained release behaviour for all formulations. The optimized surfactant-to-cholesterol concentration (7:3) in formulation F3sustained the drug-release time (T50%) up to 10 hours. Kinetic modelling exhibited a zero-order release (R2=0.9834) and the release exponent 'n' of the Korsmayer-Peppas model (n=0.90) confirmed non-fickian and anomalous release. The results of this study suggest that diacerein can be successfully entrapped into niosomes using sorbitan monostearate and that these niosomes have the potential to deliver diacerein efficiently at the absorption site.

A diacereína é usada para o alívio sintomático e para a regeneração da cartilagem na osteoartrite. Devido aos efeitos adversos gastrointestinais, baixa solubilidade aquosa e biodisponibilidade, o seu uso clínico tem sido restrito. O objetivo do presente estudo foi melhorar o perfil de dissolução deste fármaco e obter liberação prolongada através do planejamento de um novo sistema de liberação designado de niossoma. Cinco formulações distintas de niossomas (F1 a F5) contendo tensoativos não iônicos (monoestearato de sorbitano) e colesterol, em diferentes proporções, de 5:5, 6:4, 7:3, 8:2 e 9:1, foram desenvolvidas através da técnica de evaporacão de fase reversa. Os tamanhos e índices de polidispersibilidade (PDI) obtidos variam entre 0,608 e 1,01 µm e entre 0,409 e 0,7781, respectivamente. Imagens de microscopia electrônica de varrimento (SEM) da formulação selecionada (F3) revelaram vesículas esféricas. Obteve-se encapsulação de 79,8% com a formulação F3 (7:3). Estudos de dissolução usando o método de diálise demonstraram padrão de liberacão prolongada para todas as formulações. A proporção de tensoativo e colesterol (7:3) na formulacão F3 prolongou o tempo de liberação do fármaco (T50%) até 10 horas. Estudos de modelação cinética demonstraram ordem de liberacão zero (R2=0,9834) e o expoente de liberação "n" do modelo de Korsmayer-Peppas (n=0.90) confirmou a liberação não-fickiana e anômala. Os resultados deste estudo sugerem que a diacereína pode ser encapsulada com sucesso no interior de niossomas, utilizando monostearato de sorbitano, o qual tem potencial para liberar, eficientemente, a diacereína no local de absorção.

Application of Novel Liposomes in Transdermal Drug Delivery System / 中国药师

The stratum corneum barrier and the other issues in transdermal drug delivery system have attracted more and more at-tention, and the novel liposomes as the drug delivery vehicles effectively solve the problems. The novel liposomes can significantly im-prove transdermal drug penetration, therefore, can enhance efficacy and shows high application value and development prospects. In the paper, combined with some domestic and foreign current researches, the classification, penetration mechanisms and application of the novel liposomes were reviewed.

Construction and Characterization of Tacrolimus Niosomes / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE:To prepare Tacrolimus niosomes (Tac-NS) and evaluate their characteristics in vitro. METHODS:Tac-NS were prepared by a film hydration-ultrasonic method. Using the comprehensive score of encapsulation efficiency (EE%), drug-loading amount,mean particle size and PDI as the evaluation index,orthogonal design was used to optimize the concentration of sorbitan monostearate(Span-60),mole ratio of Span-60 to cholesterol,mole ratio of Span-60 to SDC. The morphology,mean particle size,PDI,Zeta-potential and EE%of Tac-NS were investigated. Accumulative percutaneous penetration(Q)and accumula-tive retention amount(Qs)of Tac-NS and physical mixture of Tac and NS were compared by percutaneous penetration test in vitro. RESULTS:The optimal formulation was as follows as Span-60 0.025 mol/L,mole ratio of Span-60 to cholesterol 10∶1,mole ratio of Span-60 to SDC 15∶1,drug-loading amount of 5%. Tac-NS was spherical and distributed evenly,but hardly congregated.The mean particle size,PDI,Zeta-potential and EE% were (233.0 ± 6.48) nm,0.266 ± 0.021,(-41.7 ± 0.32) mV and (76.83 ± 4.61)%,respectively. The results of in vitro permeability study showed that Qs of Tac-NS was 2.4 times of physical mixture;in ad-dition,Q of the two were similar. CONCLUSIONS:Tac-NS,owning high EE%,small particle size,uniform distribution and ide-al permeation effect,is prepared successfully.

Extended Release Niosomal Hydrogel for Ocular Targeting of Piroxicam: In vitro and Ex vivo Evaluation.

This study aimed at the investigation of piroxicam-niosomal hydrogel for ocular targeting to prolong and enhance its local analgesic activity. Various formulations were prepared, characterized and evaluated ex vivo for their transocular permeation using excised cow cornea. The prepared niosomes had distinct spherical multi-lamellar shape and mean vesicle size between 1.25±0.81μm and 7.47±0.85μm. Relevant increase in drug EE% was obtained with increase of cholesterol content and surfactant’s hydrophobicity. Drug retention in vesicles was significantly (p<0.05) higher at refrigerated condition than that at the room temperature. Prolonged drug release was achieved with high niosomal cholesterol content and the mechanism of drug release can be described as Fickian diffusion. The niosomal hydrogel showed 3.7 Permeability Improvement Ratio comparing to piroxicam aqueous suspension. The optimized niosomal gel showed prolonged drug release and enhanced piroxicam ocular bioavailability due to the formation of an amorphous drug form within the gel.

Niosomes : A novel trend in drug delivery.

Niosomes are a novel drug delivery system, in which the medication is encapsulated in a vesicle. Niosomes are formations of vesicles by hydrating mixture of cholesterol and nonionic surfactants. Different novel approaches used for delivering these drugs include liposomes,microspheres, nanotechnology, micro emulsions, antibody loaded drug delivery, magnetic microcapsules, implantable pumps and niosomes. Niosomes and liposomes are equiactive in drug delivery potential and both increase drug efficacy as compared with that of free drug. Niosomes are now widely studied as an alternative to liposomes . They improve the therapeutic performance of the drug molecules by delayed clearance from the circulation, protecting the drug from biological environment and restricting effects to target cells. The application of niosomal technology is widely used to treat a number of diseases.

Skin delivery of nisoldipine from niosome proconcentrate.

Nisoldipine is used for treatment of hypertension and angina pectoris. However, it suffers from very low bioavailability due to its extensive pre-systemic metabolism. This together with its low dose made it excellent candidate for transdermal delivery. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to develop and evaluate transdermal delivery system for optimization of nisoldipine skin permeability. Proniosomes comprising cholesterol and span 60 with different ratios together with ethanol and minimal water were evaluated for such aim. The developed formulations were assessed with respect to drug entrapment efficiency, viscosity, in vitro drug release and transdermal permeability. All proniosomal formulations have significantly enhanced transdermal delivery of nisoldipine compared with saturated aqueous solution of the drug. Increasing cholesterol content resulted in reduced drug flux. The study was extended to compare the efficacy of such proniosomes to the corresponding niosomes. Proniosomes significantly optimized transdermal delivery of nisoldipine compared to their hydrated form. Such results contradict the hypothesis which claimed the necessity for niosome formation from proniosomes for efficient transdermal delivery with penetration enhancement being mainly responsible for improved delivery.

Single-pass intestinal perfusion for studying intestinal absorption of azithromycin niosomes in rats / 第二军医大学学报

Objective To study the role of azithromycin niosomes (AM-NS) in promoting the intestinal absorption of AM in rats. Methods Six healthy male rates were randomly divided into two groups. Single-pass intestinal perfusion was employed to investigate the intestinal absorption of the duodenum, jejunum, ileum and colon when the perfusion rate was 0. 2 mL/min and period was 1 h. The concentrations of the drugs were determined by HPLC; the drug absorption rate constant (Ka) and the intestinal apparent permeation coefficients (Peff) were calculated. Results The absorption Ka of AM-NS in the duodenum, jejunum, ileum and colon were 2. 41, 2. 35, 2. 54 and 2. 95 folds that of the free AM, and the Peff were 2. 34, 1. 47, 2. 20, and 1. 40 folds that of the free AM, respectively, with significant differences found between the two groups for both Ka and Peff (P<0. 05). Conclusion AM-NS can significantly improve the absorption of azithromycin in the intestine of rats.

Development and in vitro/in vivo evaluation of controlled release provesicles of a nateglinide-maltodextrin complex

The aim of this study was to characterize the provesicle formulation of nateglinide (NTG) to facilitate the development of a novel controlled release system of NTG with improved efficacy and oral bioavailability compared to the currently marketed NTG formulation (Glinate™ 60). NTG provesicles were prepared by a slurry method using the non-ionic surfactant, Span 60 (SP), and cholesterol (CH) as vesicle forming agents and maltodextrin as a coated carrier. Multilamellar niosomes with narrow size distribution were shown to be successfully prepared by means of dynamic laser scattering (DLS) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The absence of drug-excipient interactions was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies. In vitro release of NTG in different dissolution media was improved compared to pure drug. A goat intestinal permeation study revealed that the provesicular formulation (F4) with an SP:CH ratio of 5:5 gave higher cumulative amount of drug permeated at 48 h compared to Glinate™ 60 and control. A pharmacodynamic study in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats confirmed that formulation F4 significantly (P<0.05) reduced blood glucose levels in comparison to Glinate 60. Overall the results show that controlled release NTG provesicles offer a useful and promising oral delivery system for the treatment of type II diabetes.

Formulation and Evaluation of Niosomes of Benzyl Penicillin.

Benzylpencillin niosomes were formulated using thin film hydration technique. The resultant niosomes were evaluated using surface morphology, particle size and its distribution, encapsulation efficiency, In vitro drug release, in vivo bioavailability and In vitro antimicrobial activity parameters. Both short (3 h) and long term (24 h) stability studies were carried out on the formulations. The lipid-surfactant ratio and the presence of cosurfactant were identified as the key variables that affect performance of the formulations. The niosomes particle sizes were between 1.67μm to 2.22 μm. The encapsulation efficiency was found to be highest in batch A with value of 82.42 %. Batches B and C exhibited slow release, oral stability and good bioavailability in vivo. For In vitro and in vivo studies, batch B containing span 80,Tween 65 and cholesterol was particularly stable and released its drug content in a controlled manner. The Cmax for the batches were higher than that of pure drug which has value of 55.04 mg/ml in vivo. The IZD of the batches were high against the test micro organisms and all the batches exhibited antimicrobial activities greater than the unformulated drug against S. typhi, P. vulgaris and Ps. Aereuginosa.

Recent trends in niosome as vesicular drug delivery system.

Over decades researchers are striving to use the drugs in an efficient manner to treat various diseases. The efficient use can be explained as reduced dose, reduced side effects, reduced dosage frequency, greater patient compliance and maximum concentration of the drug at the site of action so as to reduce the undue exposure to the entire body. The article focuses on various advantages of vesicular systems (niosomes) to develop the effective delivery system to achieve maximum effective concentration. Niosomes, nonionic surfactant vesicles with lamellar structure which may be unilamellar and multilamellar serve to be efficient in providing these required advantages. The bilayer structure of niosomes being amphiphillic in nature can be used to deliver hydrophilic drugs in its aqueous core and lipophilic drugs in the bilayer made up of surfactants. Various additives in niosomes include nonionic surfactant as film forming agent, cholesterol as stabilizing and rigidizing agent for the bilayer and various charge inducers which develop a charge on the surface of niosomes and stabilize the prepared formulation by the resulting repulsive forces. This article also comprises of various breakthroughs in niosomal delivery of drugs representing various classes. On the basis of above information, the niosomes have been thoroughly exploited for the drug delivery system and still offer scope for research on various drugs for their maximum therapeutic utilization in management and treatment of various dreadful diseases.

Recent advances in various emerging vescicular systems：An overview

Liposomes have been widely investigated since 1970 as drug carriers for improving the delivery of therapeutic agents to specific sites in the body. As a result, numerous improvements have been made to make this technology potential the treatment of certain diseases in the clinics. This review mainly focused on various aspects related to the vesicular system, including method of preparation, stabilization, drawbacks, and applications. Various types of vesicular systems such as liposomes, niosomes, transfersomes, pharmacosomes, and nanoparticle have been discussed briefly along with some other emerging vescicular systems (photosomes, archaesomes, genosomes, cryptosomes, discomes) focusing on cell specific gene transfer, photodynamic therapy and ligand mediated drug targeting. Present applications of the liposomes are in the immunology, dermatology, vaccine adjuvant, eye disorders, brain targeting, infective disease and in tumour therapy. The new developments in this field are of specific binding properties of a drug-carrying liposome to a target cell such as a tumor cell and specific molecules in the body (antibodies, proteins, peptides etc), stealth liposomes which are especially used as carriers for hydrophilic (water soluble) anticancer drugs like doxorubicin, mitoxantrone and bisphosphonate-liposome mediated depletion of macrophages. This review would help researchers working in the area of liposomal drug delivery.