Functionalized Liposomes
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pathology, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2021) | Viewed by 36642
Special Issue Editors
Interests: drug delivery;liposomes;polyphenols;fluorescence microscopy; model membranes
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Efficient incorporation of fully functional biomolecules such as proteins, nucleic acids, or anti-cancer therapeutics into living organisms is an important industrial and medical need but, at the same time, a major pharmacological challenge. Lipid-based nanocarriers, liposomes, and solid lipid nanoparticles are widely used for these purposes because they fulfill all of the requirements for an advanced drug carrier system, i.e., they are highly biodegradable, loadable with versatile molecular species, such as hydrophobic as well as hydrophilic molecules, can be easily modified by additional targeting molecules, and show a long-term availability in living organisms. However, although lipid-based carriers are the most prevalent drug delivery systems, many aspects regarding functionalization and molecular interactions between cargo, carrier, and cellular target based on chemical properties of each compound are still under intense characterization to improve the delivery success.
The latest research could show that optimal delivery efficiencies can only be reached if the carrier particles contain specific reactive molecular patterns enabling specific interactions with the target cell surface. Here, the most challenging steps are the identification of target-specific biomolecules and the subsequent fabrication of tailor-made drug carrier particles for addressing cell-specific molecular players. Furthermore, systemic applications depend on high stability in body fluids to be finally accumulated at target sites, while local applications of liposomal carrier ideally should remain at sites of application. In both cases, monitoring and visualization of the drug carrier distribution in living organisms are essential and require additional molecular tools. Newly developed fluorescent or radioactive labels frequently use target-specific conjugation strategies or molecules with extraordinary physical properties to increase the time window of visualization.
This Special Issue of IJMS focuses on all kinds of newly developed and functionalized lipid nanoparticles for in vitro and in vivo applications. Elucidating their functional principles on the molecular level is of particular interest.
Dr. Agnes Csiszár
Dr. Bernd Hoffmann
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- multifunctional liposomes
- therapeutic lipid nanoparticles
- targeted drug delivery
- cell-type-specific targeting
- organelle-specific targeting
- liposomal imaging and visualization
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