Sunday, January 18, 2015

Medical Breakthroughs From Liposomal Formulation

By Kristen Baird


Progress in research and development in the medical field is always a good indicator. Hope is bestowed when such advances take place as they signal for better and new ways to deal with diseases. Among such progress is the advent of liposomal formulation in aiding in quicker and better ways of dealing with several ailments.

There has always existed the problem of ingested drugs being digested before reaching their intended target areas in the body. The process of these formulations was discovered as scientists were looking for a solution to this problem. In this solution, the drug would be closed in and protected by a layer of phospholipids and aqueous solution.

The structural composition of the liposomes was adequately suited for the job at hand. It is composed of a mainly liquid core. This is enveloped by a layer of phospholipids, which could be either synthetic or natural. The drugs to be transported, depending on their chemical composition, would either attach to the core or upper layers without being destroyed or denatured.

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.

There has been considerable progress in the development of vaccines for diseases which do not have known cures. Such include hepatitis A, which now has a vaccine, Epaxal, under development. Inflexal V is a vaccine developed for several types of influenza especially in children. A vaccine for cancer known as Stimuvax is also in the offering.

The formulation is being investigated on how well it will serve in transportation of dietary supplements to various parts of the body. This testing is inspired by the exceptional success in performance of liposomes in targeted drug delivery. If successful, scientists will use liposomes to transport supplements to various parts of the body where they are required by the body. This procedure has been tried and worked. Therefore, its no longer a risk.




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