# Liposome–Hydrogel Composites for Controlled Drug Delivery Applications

## TL;DR

This review discusses how combining liposomes and hydrogels can improve drug delivery by creating a multifunctional system for better treatment of diseases.

## Contribution

The paper provides an updated overview of liposome–hydrogel composites for controlled drug delivery.

## Key findings

- Liposome–hydrogel composites offer advantages like biocompatibility and responsiveness to stimuli.
- These systems have been used to treat cancer and infections, showing clinical promise.
- Combining liposomes and hydrogels allows for the development of efficient drug delivery platforms.

## Abstract

Various controlled delivery systems (CDSs) have been developed to overcome the shortcomings of traditional drug formulations (tablets, capsules, syrups, ointments, etc.). Among innovative CDSs, hydrogels and liposomes have shown great promise for clinical applications thanks to their cost-effectiveness, well-known chemistry and synthetic feasibility, biodegradability, biocompatibility and responsiveness to external stimuli. To date, several liposomal- and hydrogel-based products have been approved to treat cancer, as well as fungal and viral infections, hence the integration of liposomes into hydrogels has attracted increasing attention because of the benefit from both of them into a single platform, resulting in a multifunctional drug formulation, which is essential to develop efficient CDSs. This short review aims to present an updated report on the advancements of liposome–hydrogel systems for drug delivery purposes.