Nanostructured Lipid‐Based Films for Substrate‐Mediated Applications in Biotechnology

Abstract

Amphiphilic in nature, lipids spontaneously self-assemble into a range of nanostructures in the presence of water. Among lipid self-assembled structures, liposomes and supported lipid bilayers have long held scientific interest for their main applications in drug delivery and plasma membrane models, respectively. In contrast, lipid-based multi-layered membranes on solid supports only recently begun drawing scientists’ attention. New studies on lipid films show that the stacking of multiple bilayers on a solid support yields interestingly complex features to these systems. Namely, multiple layers exhibit cooperative structural and dynamic behavior. In addition, the materials enable compartmentalization, templating, and enhanced release of several molecules of interest. Importantly, supported lipid phases exhibit long-range periodic nano-scale order and orientation that is tunable in response to a changing environment. Herein, we summarize current and pertinent understanding of lipid-based film research focusing on how unique structural characteristics enable the emergence of new applications in biotechnology including label-free biosensors, macroscale drug delivery, and substrate-mediated gene delivery. Our very recent contributions to lipid-based films, focusing on the structural characterization at the meso, nano, and molecular-scale, using Small-Angle X-ray Scattering, Atomic Force Microscopy, Photothermal Induced Resonance, and Solid-State NMR will be also highlighted.

Hybrid Unilamellar Vesicles of Phospholipids and Block Copolymers with Crystalline Domains

“…This has led to the development of polymersomes [3]-closed membrane systems analogous to liposomes that have many advantages in the applications of drug delivery [4]. Despite similarities in their assembled structures, PL and BCP membranes have rather distinct properties including membrane thickness, bending and stretch moduli [5], as well as local and translational molecular dynamics [6]. In addition, while PL chemistry is rather limited, BCPs can be synthesized with a plethora of desired functional groups.…”

One-step procedure for the preparation of functional polysaccharide/fatty acid multilayered coatings

“…To achieve this, intense work has been conducted on the preparation of composite coatings where polymeric materials are combined with low-molecular-weight block copolymer or surfactant assemblies, i.e., micelles, vesicles, or bilayers [15][16][17][18][19][20] . The stratified structure of alternating lipid or surfactant and polyelectrolyte layers has shown highly promising results in the fields of bio-catalysis and bio-sensing and is generally prepared by sequential adsorption of the different components [21][22][23] . However, for the incorporation of micelles, intact vesicles, or amphiphilic bilayers into multilayered films, additional steps aimed at stabilizing intermediate structures are required 16,17,19 .…”

Graphene-based sensing of oxygen transport through pulmonary membranes

“…In this respect, it is imperative to obtain uniform lung membrane film thickness. We have shown that lipid film thickness, even for complex mixtures, can be controlled by spin-coating speed [45][46][47] . The thickness and morphology of lung membranes can be determined by AFM using the tip-scratch method (Fig.…”