LIPOSOMES AS CARRIERS FOR TOPICAL AND TRANSDERMAL DELIVERY

The delivery of active agents to the skin by liposome carriers is an i nterdisciplinary topic of great interest today. Data accumulated over the last decade strongly point to important advantages of these drug d elivery systems. A symposium devoted to classic and new approaches in the use of liposomal systems was organized and chaired by M. Mezei and E. Touitou as a part of the Jerusalem Conference on Pharmaceutical Sc iences and Clinical Pharmacology, held on May 24-30, 1992, in Jerusale m, Israel, The presentations focused on liposomes as tools in the mech anistic study of absorption promoters (T. Nagai), drug liposomal deliv ery in the skin strata and structures (N. Weiner), interaction of lipo somes and niosomes with the human skin (H. E. Junginger), and design a nd characterization of caffeine liposomal systems for use in hyperprol iferative diseases (E. Touitou). Mezei reviewed biodisposition and cli nical studies on liposomal dosage forms containing various drugs.