Physico-chemical characterization of liposomes and drug substance–liposome interactions in pharmaceutics using capillary electrophoresis and electrokinetic chromatography

Liposomes are self-assembled phospholipid vesicles and have numerous research and therapeutic applications. In the pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences liposomes find use as models of biological membranes, partitioning medium and as drug carriers. The present review addresses the use of capillary electrophoresis and liposome electrokinetic chromatography for the characterization of liposomes in a pharmaceutical context. Capillary electrophoretic techniques have been used for the measurement of electrophoretic mobility, which provides information on liposome surface charge, size and membrane permeability of liposomes. The use of liposome electrokinetic chromatography and capillary electrophoresis for determination of liposome/water partitioning and characterization of drug–liposome interactions is reviewed. A number of studies indicate that capillary electrophoresis may have a role in the characterization of liposome drug delivery systems, e.g., for the investigation of encapsulation efficiency and drug leakage. The well-known characteristics of capillary electrophoresis, i.e., low sample volume requirement, high separation efficiency in aqueous media without a stationary phase, minimal sample preparation, and a high degree of automation, makes it an attractive approach in liposome research.