Liposomal Vaccines: Recent Advances in Vaccine Delivery Systems

Liposomal vaccines are artificially prepared microscopic vesicles made up of a lipid bilayer which can encapsulate vaccines for various diseases. Liposomes play an important role in vaccine development as vaccine carrier vehicles for many diseases like malaria, hepatitis, influenza and various cancers. The hydrophilic compounds like proteins, peptides, haptens, and nucleic acids can be incorporated within the inner aqueous space of the liposomal vesicles, whereas the hydrophobic compounds like antigens, adjuvants and linker molecules can be attached to the phospholipid bilayer or to the liposome surface by chemical linking. This chapter focuses primarily on liposomal vaccine technology regarding the characteristics, stability, methods of preparation, applications, advantages and disadvantages of liposomal vaccines.