Next-Generation Liposomal Drug Delivery Systems: Core Principles, Innovations, and Targeting Strategies

Modern therapeutics have come to focus attention on liposomal drug delivery systems as innovative and effective vehicles for targeted drug delivery. Lipid-based vesicles may encapsulate drugs that are either hydrophilic or hydrophobic, bringing about unique advantages such as improved bioavailability, protection of the encapsulated drug from degradation, and the potential to provide controlled and sustained release. Liposomal systems have also been formulated to produce different kinds of formulations including surface-modified liposomes, stealth liposomes, and cationic liposomes; each has a different therapeutic application. The introduction of liposomal systems into some newly emerging technologies like nanotechnology helps target drugs better and personalize treatment protocols. This review on the basics in drug delivery as liposomes that covers structural and compositional aspects, mechanisms associated with the encapsulation, and release, also incorporates new developments in the formulations of liposomal, comparisons between liposomes, and other types of delivery systems, and possibilities in the integration of herbal medicines, such as the Tribulus terrestris to enhance therapeutic performance. Further discussed issues are scaling up, stability, and regulatory challenges of liposomal formulation, besides the opportunities for further advancements of liposomal technology in future pharmaceutical applications. Thus, it is expected that the role of liposomes in personalized medicine will continue to increase significantly with a good prospect for the creation of safer, more efficient, and targeted therapies for most diseases.