REVIEW ARTICLE ON GLYCEROSOMES

Vinutha Naik*, Shripathy D. and A. R. Shabaraya

ABSTRACT

Although liposomes have proved to be versatile in the field of drug delivery, there are still some issues that need to be addressed mainly problems related to entrapment, penetration, fluidity and stability. Liposomes with deformable properties, including transfersomes, niosomes, ethosomes, glycerosomes, and invasomes, have been widely reported as carriers for enhanced transdermal drug delivery. This nanosystem generally comprises ~ 10‒40% (v/v) short-chain alcohols, including ethanol, glycerol, propylene glycol, and isopropanol, which soften the phospholipid membrane, increase the solubility, and improve nanocarrier drug loading. Glycerosomes are sphere-shaped versatile vesicles consisting of one or more phospholipid bilayers similar to liposomes but contain a high concentration of glycerol (preferably 20 to 30% w/v), which modifies the liposome bilayer fluidity. In these preparations, glycerol acts as an edge activator and penetration enhancer. These drug delivery systems manifest improved stability, fluidity, entrapment and penetration in comparison to conventional liposomes. Increasing the concentration of glycerol by 10, 20 or 30 % leads to a drastic increase in glycerosome stability. They have capability to encapsulate both lipophilic and hydrophilic drugs and protect them from degradation. Now a days glycerosomal carrier are the most interesting area of work for researchers. This review article summarizes the structure, advantages, composition, methods of preparations, characterization and applications of glycerosomes.

Keywords: Glycerosomes, Phospholipids, Glycerol, Penetration, Transdermal, Nasal delivery.