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For over half a century, scientists and medical personnel have been relying on liposomes as a method of directing the transport of substances within the body. They are essentially artificial biological containers, constructed with phospholipids which make up a lipid bilayer membrane, forming what is known as a 'vesicle'. These phospholipids, containing hydrophilic heads and hydrophobic tails, face away from one another producing a vesicle which favors aqueous conditions on the inside and outside, and a layer in between which does not favor aqueous conditions and does not allow aqueous solution to pass through. This prevents the solution inside the vesicle from mixing with that outside, effectively containing its contents.

The medical purpose of these artificial vesicles includes that of drug delivery, bio-detoxification, and the transfection of DNA. Because they are composed of a natural lipid bilayer, they are able to merge with other bilayers such as that of a cell membrane. This fusion of bilayers merges the contents of the vesicle and the cell.

The ability of the liposome to fuse with biological membranes composed of bilayers is the property that makes it effective in providing drug delivery. Manufacturing these Liposomes in a solution of a particular drug produces vesicles containing that drug. The bilayer prevents the drug from dissolving into surrounding solution before reaching the site at which it is intended to merge, such as the cell membrane.

As a means of bio-detoxification, empty liposomes with a transmembrane pH gradient can be injected into the bloodstream where an excess of a drug has been administered. The drug is essentially pulled into the empty vesicle as a result of the pH gradient. Once inside the membrane, the drug is incapable of reacting with the body, effectively diminishing its toxic effects.

Sometimes, genetic material will be delivered to cells similar to the way drugs are delivered. This is completed as a method of modifying the DNA within a cell. By inserting new DNA into a cell, it can begin to function with entirely new abilities.

Although Liposomes are crafted by humans, their properties are not unlike that of natural cells within the body. This ensures a proper delivery or transport of the intended substance without creating an intense immune reaction. By interacting with cells while working within the body's natural system, liposomes have expanded the role of humans in the modification of cellular activity.