Abstract

Although liposomes have proved to be versatile in the field of drug delivery, there are still some issues that need to be addressed mainly problems related to entrapment, penetration, fluidity and stability. Glycerosomes represent a novel drug delivery systems composed of phospholipids, water and glycerol in varying amounts. Glycerosomes are upgraded versions of liposomes meant for topical and transdermal drug delivery. In these preparations, glycerol acts as an edge activator and penetration enhancer. These drug delivery systems manifest improved stability, fluidity, entrapment and penetration in comparison to conventional liposomes. Increasing the concentration of glycerol by 10, 20 or 30 % leads to a drastic increase in glycerosome stability. This article is a detailed review of glycerosomes focusing on methods of preparation, evaluation, applications, advantages and disadvantages based on studies reported so far. In this review article, how the structure of liposomes can be modified by the addition of glycerol and how this modified structure can be used to address the problems related to liposomes is discussed. The influence of increasing glycerol concentration on the nature of glycerosomes that lead to an increase in both entrapment and encapsulation of a drug while causing slower drug release is discussed.