title: Liposomes and other vesicular systems: structural characteristics, methods of preparation, and use in nanomedicine.
abstract: Vesicular systems, especially liposomes, have generated a great deal of interest as intelligent materials for the delivery of bioactive molecules since they can be used as sensitive containers that respond to external stimuli, such as pressure, pH, temperature, or concentration changes in the medium, triggering modifications in their supramolecular structure. The control of the nanostructure-particle size and size distribution, membrane morphology, and supramolecular organization-of these self-assembled systems is of profound importance for their application in drug delivery and the discovery of new nanomedicines. This chapter will describe the chemical structure of vesicles and their pharmacological properties, conventional and new vesicle preparation methods and structural characterization, as well as their use in the rational design and fabrication of nanomedicines.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Nanoscience and Organic Materials, Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC), Campus de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Elizondo
authors.forename: Evelyn
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Moreno
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Cabrera
authors.forename: Alba
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Córdoba
authors.forename: Santiago
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sala
authors.forename: Jaume
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Veciana
authors.forename: Nora
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ventosa
mesh_terms: D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D008081:Liposomes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D050997:Nanomedicine / Q000379:methods*; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D058525:Quartz Crystal Microbalance Techniques
chemical_list: D008081:Liposomes; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations