Application of Functionalized Liposomes in The Delivery of Natural Products
Plant natural products have a wide range of pharmacological properties,not only can they be used as plant dietary supplements to meet the nutritional needs of the human body in the accelerated pace of life,but also occupy an important position in the research and development of therapeutic drugs for the treatment of tumors,inflammation and other diseases,and have been widely accepted by the public due to their good safety.However,despite the above advantages of plant natural products,limiting factors such as low solubility,poor stability,lack of targeting,high toxicity and side effects,and unacceptable odor have greatly impeded their conversion to clinical applications.Therefore,the development of new avenues for the application of new natural products has become an urgent problem to be solved at present.In recent years,with the continuous development of research,various strategies have been developed to improve the bioavailability of natural products.Among them,nanocarrier delivery system is one of the most attractive strategies at present.In past studies,a large number of nanomaterials(organic,inorganic,etc.)have been developed to encapsulate plant-derived natural products for their efficient delivery to specific organs and cells.Up to now,nanotechnology has not only been limited to pharmaceutical applications,but is also competing in the fields of nanofood processing technology and nanoemulsions.Among the various nanocarriers,liposomes are the largest nanocarriers with the largest market share at present.Liposomes are bilayer nanovesicles synthesized from amphiphilic substances,which have advantages such as high drug loading capacity and stability.Attractively,the flexible surface of liposomes can be modified with various functional elements.Functionalized modification of liposomes with different functional elements such as antibodies,nucleic acids,peptides,and stimuli-responsive moieties can bring out the excellent drug delivery function of liposomes to a greater extent.For example,the modification of functional elements with targeting function such as nucleic acids and antibodies on the surface of liposomes can deliver natural products to the target location and improve the bioavailability of drugs;the modification of stimulus-responsive groups such as photosensitizers,magnetic nanoparticles,pH-responsive groups,and temperature sensitizers on the surface of liposomes can achieve controlled release of drugs,localized targeting,and synergistic thermotherapy.In addition to the above properties,by using functionalized liposomes to encapsulate natural products with irritating properties can also effectively mask the irritating properties of natural products,improve public acceptance,and increase the possibility of application of irritating natural products.There are various strategies for modifying liposomes with functional elements,and the properties of functionalized liposomes constructed by different construction strategies differ.The commonly used construction strategies for functionalized liposomes include covalent modification and non-covalent modification.These two types of construction strategies have their own advantages and disadvantages.Covalent modification has better stability than non-covalent modification,but its operation is cumbersome.With the above background,this review focuses on the three typical problems faced by plant natural products at present,and summarizes the specific applications of functionalized liposomes in them.In addition,this paper summarizes the construction strategies for building different types of functionalized liposomes.Finally,this paper will also review the opportunities and challenges faced by functionalized liposomes to enter clinical therapy,and explore the opportunities to overcome these problems,with a view to better realizing the precise control of plant nanomedicines,and providing ideas and inspirations for researchers in related fields as well as relevant industrial staff.