About this Research Topic
Lipids not only play fundamental roles in the normal function of cells but also contribute significant importance in medicinal fields. In the past decades, multiple lipid-based drug delivery systems, including micelles, liposomes, and lipid-based nanoparticles, have shown great promise in drug delivery. In particular, the successful application of liposomal doxorubicin, such as Doxil®, in cancer therapy as well as the recently developed mRNA vaccines for COVID-19, are outstanding examples of lipid formulations.
However, there are still some challenges in developing lipid-based formulations for robust medical usage. One of the most important challenges is the development of effective formulations for commercial applications. The structure-function relationship of different lipids in various diseases has not been fully elucidated which requires more effort. Secondly, the construction of lipid formulations with high reproducibility is still a common difficulty among labs, which calls for more understanding of the design and formulation optimization knowledge of current lipid formulations. Thirdly, the shortages of lipid formulations, such as low drug loading capacity and functionality, seriously hindered the further development of lipid-based formulations in drug delivery. The solution might rely on lipid modification and hybrid lipid formulations which need additional explorations. Last but not least, the extension of novel lipid-based formulations, with cell membrane carriers as the typical example, which represents the future orientation of lipid-based formulations, deserves our close attention.
In this special issue, novel lipid formulations with excellent properties in various fields and outstanding strategies in designing lipid-based formulations were supposed to be focused on and especially welcomed. Review articles describing the frontier studies of novel lipid-based formulations are encouraged.
This special issue includes but is not limited to the following sub-topics:
Liposomal drug delivery system
Solid lipid nanoparticles and nanostructured lipid carriers
Hybrid lipid drug delivery systems
Lipid-based vaccines and gene delivery systems
Lipid-drug conjugates as pro-drugs
Cell membrane -based carriers
However, there are still some challenges in developing lipid-based formulations for robust medical usage. One of the most important challenges is the development of effective formulations for commercial applications. The structure-function relationship of different lipids in various diseases has not been fully elucidated which requires more effort. Secondly, the construction of lipid formulations with high reproducibility is still a common difficulty among labs, which calls for more understanding of the design and formulation optimization knowledge of current lipid formulations. Thirdly, the shortages of lipid formulations, such as low drug loading capacity and functionality, seriously hindered the further development of lipid-based formulations in drug delivery. The solution might rely on lipid modification and hybrid lipid formulations which need additional explorations. Last but not least, the extension of novel lipid-based formulations, with cell membrane carriers as the typical example, which represents the future orientation of lipid-based formulations, deserves our close attention.
In this special issue, novel lipid formulations with excellent properties in various fields and outstanding strategies in designing lipid-based formulations were supposed to be focused on and especially welcomed. Review articles describing the frontier studies of novel lipid-based formulations are encouraged.
This special issue includes but is not limited to the following sub-topics:
Liposomal drug delivery system
Solid lipid nanoparticles and nanostructured lipid carriers
Hybrid lipid drug delivery systems
Lipid-based vaccines and gene delivery systems
Lipid-drug conjugates as pro-drugs
Cell membrane -based carriers
Keywords: Liposome, solid lipid nanoparticles, nanostructured lipid carriers, drug delivery system, vaccines, gene delivery, lipidic pro-drugs, cell membrane carriers
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