Sphingosomes: A Novel Lipoidal Vesicular Drug Delivery System

Abstract

Vesicular drug delivery system has various advantages thereby improving therapeutic efficacy and by sustaining and controlling action of drugs. Liposomes, sphingosomes, ethosomes, cubosomes, pharmacasomes, niosomes, transferosomes are the newly developed vesicular drug delivery system. This review article mainly deals with the sphingosomal drug delivery system. Sphingosomes are vesicular drug delivery systems in which an aqueous volume is enclosed with sphingolipid bilayer membranes. Sphingosomes has an enhanced area of interest because of their applicability in improving the in vivo delivery of various chemotherapeutic agents, biological macromolecules and diagnostics. Sphingosome has major advantages over other vesicular drug delivery systems like high stability, more in vivo circulation time, high tumor loading efficacy in case of cancer therapy as compared to liposomes, niosomes etc. Sphingosomes are clinically used vesicular delivery system for chemotherapeutic agent, biological macromolecule and diagnostics. This review concluded that sphingosome represents a promising vesicular drug delivery system for a range of possible therapeutic applications.