Liposomes for Intra-Articular Analgesic Drug Delivery in Orthopedics: State-of-Art and Future Perspectives. Insights from a Systematic Mini-Review of the Literature.

Background and objectives: Liposomal structures are artificial vesicles composed of one or several lamellae of phospholipids which surround an inner aqueous core. Given the amphoteric nature of phospholipids, liposomes are promising systems for drug delivery. The present review provides an updated synthesis of the main techniques for the production of liposomes for orthopedic applications, focusing on the drawbacks of the conventional methods and on the advantages of high pressure techniques. Materials and

Methods

Articles published in any language were systematically retrieved from two major electronic scholarly databases (PubMed/MEDLINE and Scopus) up to March 2020. Nine articles were retained based on the "Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses" (PRISMA) guidelines.

Results

Liposome vesicles decrease the rate of inflammatory reactions after local injections, and significantly enhance the clinical effectiveness of anti-inflammatory agents providing controlled drug release, reducing toxic side effects.

Conclusions

This review presents an update on the improvement in musculoskeletal ailments using liposome treatment.