Using liposomes to target infection and inflammation induced by foreign body injuries or medical implants

Abstract

Foreign body (FB) injuries occur under many circumstances: at work, when practising a hobby, in car accidents, or in violence-afflicted zones. Owing to the nature of these injuries, they are not restricted to a certain part of the body and may affect several organs simultaneously. In general, an FB will be surgically removed when it is a cause of pain or infection or when jeopardizing a critical biological function. However, in many cases removing the FB is not possible owing to risk of harming adjacent delicate tissue. Furthermore, often when surgically removing the FB, microscopic fragments or debris remain at the site of invasion, becoming a cause of pain and recurring infection and inflammation. FB-related complications can also originate from micro- or nanoparticles released by degradation of medical implants. The use of advanced drug delivery technologies to target the tissue surrounding the FB, or the FB itself, may be of therapeutic benefit. Liposomes, vesicles with an aqueous core entrapped in one or more lipid bilayers, are widely used as drug delivery systems. Previous studies show that nanoliposomes can effectively target infected and inflamed tissue. The working hypothesis of this paper is that nanoliposomes, of specific lipid composition, may be used to target FB under conditions of inflammation.