Barbosa-Barros L., Rodriguez G., Rubio L., Cocera M., Alonso C., de la Maza A., Lopez O.
Inst. Advan. Chemistry Catalonia-CSIC, ES
Keywords: bicelles, lipids, nanosystems, skin
Bicellar nanosystems are a fascinating category of morphologically adaptable and versatile lipid assemblies consisting in bilayered disk-shaped nanoaggregates formed in water by long and short alkyl chain phospholipids. Characteristics of these bicellar systems, such as the solely lipid content, small size and its organization in bilayer allow to propose the use of these nanostructures for biomedical purposes. Our results evidenced that, depending on the composition, temperature and other factors, these nanosystems exhibit high structural and morphological versatility. Additionally and, due to the mentioned versatility, bicellar nanosystems are able to modulate the permeability of anatomic barriers and to incorporate some drugs, providing advantages respect to other lipid systems such as liposomes and micelles (1,2). All this considered, these nanostructures emerge as smart nanosystems with high potential in biomedicine. 1. L Rubio, G Rodriguez, C Alonso, C Lopez-Iglesias, M Cocera, L Coderch, A de la Maza, J L Parra, O Lopez, Structural effects of flufenamic acid in DPPC/DHPC bicellar systems, Soft Matter 2011, DOI: 10.1039/c1sm05692a. 2. L Barbosa-Barros, G Rodriguez, C Barba, M Cocera, L Rubio, J Estelrich, C Lopez-Iglesias, A de la Maza, O Lopez, Bicelles: Lipid nanostructured platforms with potential dermal applications, Small 2011, DOI: 10.1002/smll.201101545
Journal: TechConnect Briefs
Volume: 3, Nanotechnology 2012: Bio Sensors, Instruments, Medical, Environment and Energy (Volume 3)
Published: June 18, 2012
Pages: 106 - 109
Industry sectors: Advanced Materials & Manufacturing | Medical & Biotech
Topic: Biomaterials
ISBN: 978-1-4665-6276-9