NANOTECHNOLOGY BASED VIROSOMAL DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEMS

Over the years there has been a great revolution in drug delivery technologies. Virosomes delivery is an example of the various novel drug delivery systems available. Virosome is a drug or vaccine delivery mechanism which is spherical and consisting of unilamellar phospholipid bilayer vesicle with a mean diameter is in range of 120-180 nm. Virosomes represent reconstituted empty influenza virus envelopes, which contain 70% phosphatidylcholine and remaining 30% neuraminidase (NA) and haemagglutinin (HA) glycoproteins. Various techniques are used for the loading the drug, protein and peptide like package inside the IRIV (immunopotentiatin reconstituted influenza virosome), intrigrated into lipid bilayer also anchored into lipid bilayer, crosslinked with Hemaglutinin (HA) and adsorbed to the membrane. Various protein, peptide, and malarial drugs are loaded in virus to deliver at particular site to give the targeted drug delivery. The prospect of drug delivery and targeting using virosomes is an interesting field of research and development. Virosomes are biodegradable, biocompatible, nontoxic, and non-autoimmunogenic attempts were made to use them as a vaccines or pharmaceutical adjuvants as well as delivery systems for pharmaceutical drugs, nucleic acids, genes for therapeutic application. Virosomes could also be exploited as carriers for targeted drugs and for immunomodulating molecules particularly in cancer therapy. The success of virosomal drug delivery depends on the methods used to prepare the encapsulated bioactive materials and incorporate them into the virosomes, characterization and formulation of the finished preparation. This review article gives an insight of virosomes as a newer method of drug delivery and futuristic tool.