Liposomal Drug Delivery Systems in Oncological Applications
Summary
Liposomal drug delivery systems employ nanoscale vesicles composed of phospholipid bilayers to encapsulate chemotherapeutic agents, enhancing their stability, circulation time and tumour accumulation. By exploiting the enhanced permeability and retention effect, liposomes passively target tumours through leaky vasculature, while surface modifications such as polyethylene glycol (PEG) grafting confer stealth properties that reduce clearance by the mononuclear phagocyte system. Advances in bilayer composition and conjugation chemistry have improved membrane integrity, minimised premature leakage and optimised payload release. Customised strategies now include active targeting ligands, pH-sensitive or enzyme-responsive linkers and multifunctional designs that co-deliver cytotoxics alongside immunomodulators. Clinically approved formulations of liposomal doxorubicin and vincristine demonstrate reduced cardiotoxicity and enhanced therapeutic indices compared to conventional formulations. Emerging research focuses on multifunctional conjugates and stimuli-responsive architectures that adapt to the tumour microenvironment, overcome multidrug resistance and synergise chemotherapy with immunotherapy. Collectively, these developments underline the global significance of liposomal platforms in refining oncology treatments and laying the groundwork for next-generation nanomedicines.
Research from Nature Portfolio
Recent studies report a novel lipid bilayer in which cholesterol is covalently bound to sphingomyelin, preventing cholesterol extraction by biomembranes and substantially reducing payload leakage under physiological conditions. Structure–activity relationship screening identified an optimised disulfide-linked conjugate that enhances maximum tolerated doses of vincristine, improves pharmacokinetics and amplifies tumour delivery efficiency. In diffuse large B-cell lymphoma models, this conjugate increased antitumour efficacy while lowering systemic toxicity. Furthermore, the technology proved versatile across diverse agents—including irinotecan, doxorubicin, dexamethasone and siRNA against multidrug resistance genes—yielding superior delivery and therapeutic outcomes in pancreatic, breast and colorectal cancer models compared with current clinical nanotherapeutics.
Liposomal Drug Delivery Systems in Oncological Applications publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in liposomal drug delivery systems in oncological applications across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Liposome: A nanoscale vesicle composed of one or more phospholipid bilayers capable of encapsulating hydrophilic and hydrophobic therapeutic agents.
Enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect: Passive accumulation of nanoscale carriers in tumours due to leaky vasculature and impaired lymphatic drainage.
PEGylation: Grafting of polyethylene glycol chains onto the liposome surface to prolong circulation by reducing opsonisation and clearance.
Stimuli-responsive release: Engineered mechanisms that trigger drug release in response to specific tumour microenvironment cues, such as pH changes or enzymatic activity.
Immunogenic cell death (ICD): A form of tumour cell death that stimulates an adaptive immune response through the release of danger signals and tumour antigens.
References
- Cholesterol-modified sphingomyelin chimeric lipid bilayer for improved therapeutic delivery. Nature Communications (2024).
- Tumor microenvironment-responsive spherical nucleic acid nanoparticles for enhanced chemo-immunotherapy. Journal of Nanobiotechnology (2023).
- Advances and Challenges of Liposome Assisted Drug Delivery. Frontiers in Pharmacology (2015).
- Marqibo® (vincristine sulfate liposome injection) improves the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of vincristine. Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology (2012).
- Surface Engineering of Liposomes for Stealth Behavior. Pharmaceutics (2013).
- Comparison of safety and toxicity of liposomal doxorubicin vs. conventional anthracyclines: a meta-analysis. Experimental Hematology & Oncology (2012).
- pH-Sensitive Biomaterials for Drug Delivery. Molecules (2020).
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