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Medical Breakthroughs From Liposomal Formulation

By Kristen Baird


Health is among the key areas of prime concern among most people. With the advent of the discipline of medicine, health has been improved a great deal. Extensive research has been conducted in the past, and is still an ongoing process, in a bid to curb and eliminate all sorts of health problems. Among the recent breakthroughs is concerned with liposomal formulation.

The formulation is a rightful step in the advancement of drugs. The procedure was discovered to curb the unwanted effects of drugs being exhausted before reaching the target areas. The initial phase of the process involves encapsulating the drug in a layer of digestible and healthy phospholipids. There were several options on the table, but after further research, liposomes were found to be the most favorable carriers.

The simplicity of the liposomes' structural composition is key to its performance. They are made up of an aqueous solution which is engulfed in a strengthened mesh of either natural or synthetic phospholipids. The advantage of this is that it can fuse non-reactively with both hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs, each attaching to the element it does not react to.

The main advantage of using liposomes comes from its core structure. The procedure of formation is key to this. They are formed when a specific heat level is exposed to phospholipids immersed in water. This provides the right atmosphere for formation of liposomes. The physiochemical composition should then be deduced so as to enable the liposome act as an appropriate carrier for an appropriate drug - given its composition to avoid any reactions.

Advances like these have led to researchers getting further progress in the field. The most famous result being an anthracycline drug known as Doxorubicin, developed specifically to curb the spread of various variations of cancer. It inserts strains of base RNA and DNA into the malignant cells, and also the topoisomerase enzyme in later stages. This actively inhibits the spread of the disease.

Research and development has been kicked into top gear with the discovery and advancement of this formulation. There are high expectations from various areas on the development of drugs to help the fight against most terminal illnesses. There has been consistent research in developing anti-cancer drugs in the recent past. Drugs such as doxorubicin, paclitaxel, cisplatin, lipoplatin and aroplatin have been developed and testing is ongoing for the same purpose.

The study of liposomes has also led to development of vaccines and various other treatments. Various diseases and medical conditions which previously had no cure can now be vaccinated against. Such developments have established Epaxal, a vaccine against Hepatitis A, and Inflexal V, a vaccine against several types of influenza. A vaccine known as Stimuvax against lighter forms of cancer is in the offing.

Another point of progress thanks to this formulation has been in delivery of dietary supplements. It is still a new area under testing, but has great promise considering the level of success the formulations has garnered from targeted drug delivery. The process of the formulation is hence referred to as a new era of medical advances.




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