liposome

(LY-puh-some) A very tiny, fat-like particle that is made in the laboratory. In medicine, liposomes containing drugs or other substances are used in the treatment of cancer and other diseases. Drugs given in liposomes may have fewer side effects and work better than the same drugs given alone.

A synthetic microscopic spherical structure consisting of a phospholipid bilayer membrane containing a user-defined aqueous solution. Liposomes can be used to transport relatively toxic drugs into diseased cells, where they can exert their maximum effect. DNA molecules may be entrapped in, or bound to the surface of, the vesicles, and subsequent fusion of the liposome with the cell membrane will deliver the DNA into the cell. Liposomes have been used to develop an efficient transfection procedure for Streptomyces bacteria.