Virosomes as drug delivery system: An updated review

Abstract

Amid the era of development in all sphere of Biotechnology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology, it would not be an exaggeration to say that we have a myriad of molecules available to us in labs with promising results against many diseases. The limitation lies in the fact that some molecules are toxic when they act on organs other than their targets. Yet others cannot reach their targets in the desired concentration, be it due to easy degradation in the gut or high first-pass metabolism or very short half-life, etc. Thus, to overcome this, we have an alternate drug delivery system, namely Virosomes. The purpose of this review is to understand the drug delivery aspect of the virosomes, its type, structure, method of preparation, mechanism of action, administration routes and the application in the medical field. Virosomes are the regenerated viral envelope having a central empty space that can act as the vehicles for drug delivery. The central empty space can be filled with the desired bioactive molecule. Virosomes are most commonly prepared by using the reconstituted viral envelope of the Influenza virus, but other virus such as Sendai or HVJ, Hepatitis B Virus, HIV, New castle Disease Virus etc., can also be used for the preparation of virosomes. Virosomes has a great potential as the drug delivery system for almost all types of the drugs, and this encourages the researchers and therapeutic industries to enhance their pharmacological profiles, clinical result and stability.