title: Thermosensitive liposomes for localized delivery and triggered release of chemotherapy.
abstract: Liposomes are a promising class of nanomedicine with the potential to provide site-specific chemotherapy, thus improving the quality of cancer patient care. First-generation liposomes have emerged as one of the first nanomedicines used clinically for localized delivery of chemotherapy. Second-generation liposomes, i.e. stimuli-responsive liposomes, have the potential to not only provide site-specific chemotherapy, but also triggered drug release and thus greater spatial and temporal control of therapy. Temperature-sensitive liposomes are an especially attractive option, as tumors can be heated in a controlled and predictable manner with external energy sources. Traditional thermosensitive liposomes are composed of lipids that undergo a gel-to-liquid phase transition at several degrees above physiological temperature. More recently, temperature-sensitization of liposomes has been demonstrated with the use of lysolipids and synthetic temperature-sensitive polymers. The design, drug release behavior, and clinical potential of various temperature-sensitive liposomes, as well as the various heating modalities used to trigger release, are discussed in this review.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, 44 Cummington St., Room 403, Boston, USA. terence.ta@gmail.com
authors.forename: Terence
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ta
authors.forename: Tyrone M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Porter
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008081:Liposomes / Q000737:chemistry*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D008081:Liposomes