Research progress on role of cholesterol in liposomes and replacement with sterols and saponins / 中草药

ABSTRACT

With the development of process study of liposomes, the design of multifunctional liposomes has been a research hotspot. Cholesterol is one of the main components in liposome preparations, and plays an important role in the liposome's structure and stability. Sterols, saponins with the similar structure and certain pharmacological activities can be used to replace cholesterol in liposomes, which can also form good liposomes. Also, the pharmacological activities of sterols and saponins endow the liposomes with better application value. With the relevant literatures at home and abroad in recent years, this paper reviews the research progress of the role of cholesterol and the replacement design of cholesterol in liposomes with sterols and saponins.