New delivery systems-liposomes for pulmonary delivery of antibacterial drugs

Liposomes are established drug carriers for inhalation owing to their biocompatibility, biodegradability, and ability to entrap drugs and prolong their therapeutic effects in the respiratory tract following inhalation. Amongst inhalation devices, nebulizers have been the most successful because they can deliver relatively large volumes of liposomes to the deep lung. Pulmonary delivery of liposome-entrapped antibacterial drugs is particularly promising because liposomes may reduce the minimum inhibitory concentration of the entrapped antibiotic compared to drug aerosolized using single-phase aqueous solutions. Arikace® is a novel liposomal amikacin formulation for inhalation using a Pari e-Flow vibrating-mesh nebulizer. This formulation has demonstrated marked success at fighting against pulmonary infections with Pseudomonas aeruginosa in patients with cystic fibrosis. Vibrating-mesh nebulizers have provided advantages for pulmonary delivery of liposomes owing to their ability to deliver the liposome-entrapped drug to the peripheral airways without markedly damaging the physical integrity of the vesicles. This chapter provides an up-to-date appraisal of liposomes in the field of pulmonary drug delivery with a main focus on liposome inhalation for the treatment of bacterial infections in the lung. © 2015 Wiley-VCH Verlag Gmbh & Co. KGaA. All rights reserved.