Liposomes and Niosomes for Targeted Drug and Gene Delivery Systems

Abstract

The treatment of infectious diseases and immunizations has experienced a paradigm shift in recent years. With the advent of biotechnology and genetic engineering, not only have various disease-specific biologicals been developed, but an emphasis has also been focused on the effective delivery of such biologicals. The majority of active pharmaceutical ingredients exhibit poor bioavailability, biological degradation, and unexpected underlying adverse effects. To overcome these limitations, developing efficient and new drug delivery systems is crucial in terms of their efficacy across several administration routes, including cutaneous, oral, topical, parenteral, and pulmonary. To accomplish these goals effectively, targeted delivery of drugs/genes to specific tissues/cells has been extensively investigated. The applications of liposomes and niosomes may have advantages over other nanoparticles (NPs) due to their excellent biocompatibility, increased drug loading capacity, and scalability. Liposomes have already gained a significant impact on a number of biomedical fields. They have been proven to be advantageous in stabilizing bioactive components, removing obstacles to cellular and tissue absorption, and optimizing drug biodistribution to target areas in vivo. Encapsulated chemicals are delivered to specific sites while reducing systemic toxicity. Liposomes are promising delivery technologies because of their versatile physicochemical and biophysical properties. Niosomes (nonionic surfactant vesicles), which are being investigated as innovative drug delivery methods, have been shown to enhance the solubility and stability of natural medicinal compounds and other pharmaceutical ingredients. They were developed to facilitate the targeted and controlled release of natural bioactive ingredients. As a result, nanosystems such as liposomes and niosomes have developed into effective methods for enhancing the targeted delivery of drugs and genes. This chapter will provide an overview of the techniques for preparing niosomes and liposomes, the types of niosomes and liposomes, and their characterization and uses in targeted drug and gene delivery systems.