Table 10.
Comparison of drug delivery features of liposomes and RBC.
| Features | Parameters | Liposomes | RBC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carrier | Target access | Relatively high | High in blood |
| Extravasation | Yes | Normally none | |
| Effect of pathology | Varies from EPR to blocking access | Massive uptake in clots and bleeding sites | |
| Circulation time | Minutes to days | Months | |
| Majority of injected dose | Rapidly taken by RES | Remains in blood cells | |
| Clearance organs | Liver | Spleen | |
| DDS utility | Improving PK of insoluble drugs | Long-term pool in blood | |
| Targets | Blood, RES and tissue components | Blood, vascular cells and RES | |
| Intracellular delivery | Yes, in many cell types via many mechanisms | To macrophages in RES | |
| Advances and issues | Versatility | High | Limited |
| Control of structure | Considerable | ||
| Challenges | Heterogeneity | ||
| Immunogenicity | Relatively low | Self-tolerance to autologous RBC |