from Matthew R. Preiss, Anju Gupta and Geoffrey D. Bothun writing in Bionanotechnology: Biological Self-assembly and its Applications:
Liposome-nanoparticle assemblies (LNAs) combine the demonstrated potential of clinically approved nanoparticles and liposomes to achieve multiple therapeutic and diagnostic objectives. Efficient and effective biomedical application requires assemblies to be stable, biocompatible, and bioavailable, while enhancing the properties of encapsulates. LNAs have been demonstrated to be effective for in vivo and in vitro providing targeting and stimuli-responsive delivery of therapeutic and imaging agents. The ability to design LNAs with nanoparticle encapsulation, bilayer-decoration, and surface coupling provides a variety of different structures and functions. While the potential of LNAs has been demonstrated, future investigation into the interaction between the lipid bilayer and nanoparticles is necessary to understand and develop LNAs for clinical applications. This section will discuss the current state of liposome-nanoparticle assembly design, characterization, and applications of liposome-nanoparticle assemblies.
Further reading: Bionanotechnology: Biological Self-assembly and its Applications