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Essay / Liposomes Essay - 541
Lipososomes are drug delivery vehicles. Liposomes are engineered artificial vesicles that are composed of the lipid bilayer. They can be used as a vehicle for the delivery of nutrients and pharmaceutical drugs. Liposomes are prepared by disrupting biological membranes through sonication. Liposomes are closed vehicles that contain both a lipophilic and a hydrophilic region. The formation of these vesicles occurs by hydration of a mixture of cholesterol and a phospholipid. There are many different approaches to administering these medications. Improvements in the performance of drug molecules include delaying clearance from circulation, protecting the drug from the environment, and limiting effects on target cells. “Liposomes were discovered about 40 years ago by Bangham and his colleague.” (Boddyreddy, 2012), accidental discovery because he was studying blood coagulation. Liposome structures are spherical and typically measure between 15 nm and 1000 nm in diameter. They are able to target the ligands attached to their surface to direct them to the appropriate sites....