Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Vivek P. Chavda, Shilpa Dawre, Anjali Pandya, Lalitkumar K. Vora, Dharti H. Modh, Vidhi Shah, Divyang J. Dave, Vandana Patravale
Summary: The development of novel long-acting parenteral formulations based on lipid-based liquid crystals has been encouraged by the need for long-term treatments of chronic diseases. These liquid crystal systems, formed by amphiphilic molecules, spontaneously form liquid crystal nanoparticles in aqueous tissue environments, creating an in-situ long-acting sustained-release depot for extended treatment efficacy. This manuscript summarizes the different types of liquid crystals, recent formulation advancements, analytical evaluation, and therapeutic application of lyotropic liquid crystals in the field of parenteral sustained release drug delivery.
JOURNAL OF CONTROLLED RELEASE
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Guillermo Blanco-Fernandez, Barbara Blanco-Fernandez, Anxo Fernandez-Ferreiro, Francisco J. Otero-Espinar
Summary: Liquid crystals possess unique physicochemical properties that make them applicable in various fields. This article provides an overview of the current landscape of lipidic liquid crystals in biomedical applications, with a focus on drug delivery, tissue engineering, and molecular imaging. The limitations and future prospects of lipidic liquid crystals in these applications are also discussed.
ADVANCES IN COLLOID AND INTERFACE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Vivek P. Chavda, Sathish Dyawanapelly, Shilpa Dawre, Ines Ferreira-Faria, Rajashri Bezbaruah, Niva Rani Gogoi, Praveen Kolimi, Divyang J. Dave, Ana Claudia Paiva-Santos, Lalitkumar K. Vora
Summary: Liquid crystal-based nanoformulations are efficient in delivering drugs and therapeutics to specific biological sites. Lyotropic liquid crystalline phases (LLCPs) have unique characteristics that make them promising drug delivery systems, offering improved drug loading, stability, and controlled release. Factors such as molecule shape, microsegregation, and chirality play important roles in the formation of these liquid crystalline phases. Additionally, due to their similarity to biological membranes, liquid crystals demonstrate higher bioadhesivity and biocompatibility, making them more effective for targeted drug delivery.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICS
(2023)
Article
Biophysics
Annija Stepulane, Kajsa Ahlgren, Adrian Rodriguez-Palomo, Anand Kumar Rajasekharan, Martin Andersson
Summary: In this study, silicone-based lyotropic liquid crystal elastomers with drug-eluting functionality were developed using PDMS and triblock copolymer (DA-F127). Various compositions were explored and evaluated, and three compositions with specific properties of interest were further investigated. The materials demonstrated the ability to encapsulate and release polar and nonpolar substances, with sustained release profiles for up to 6 and 5 days for vancomycin and ibuprofen, respectively. This research presents a lyotropic liquid crystal, silicone-based elastomer with tailorable mechanical properties, water retention capacity, and the ability to host and release active substances.
COLLOIDS AND SURFACES B-BIOINTERFACES
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Medicinal
Maria Chountoulesi, Stergios Pispas, Ioulia K. Tseti, Costas Demetzos
Summary: This review provides an overview of the engineering and characterization of non-lamellar lyotropic liquid crystalline nanosystems (LLCN), highlighting their advantages as drug delivery nanocarriers and innovative vaccine platforms. Non-lamellar LLCN demonstrate stimuli-responsive and controlled release properties, as well as unique adjuvant properties for immune system activation.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jinpeng Liu, Ranran Cheng, Kirsten Heimann, Zhongni Wang, Jinying Wang, Feng Liu
Summary: The study successfully developed temperature-sensitive lyotropic liquid crystals (LLC) that can adjust their structure to match human body temperature, showing potential for application as transdermal drug delivery systems by influencing their composition and temperature.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR LIQUIDS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Matthew C. Urquhart, Francesca Ercole, Andrew J. Clulow, Thomas P. Davis, Michael R. Whittaker, Ben J. Boyd, John F. Quinn
Summary: This study discovers that an amphiphilic trisulfide can alter the behavior of lipid particles and enable triggered release of H2S, providing potential applications in stimuli-responsive drug delivery systems.
JOURNAL OF COLLOID AND INTERFACE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
P. A. N. S. Priyadharshana, Ju-Young Park, Seung-Ho Hong, Jang-Kun Song
Summary: This study reports a facile method to prepare multiresponsive colloidal materials that can be controlled by electric fields and temperature. The materials exhibit a solid gel phase and a liquid sol phase, and are used for designing display devices and temperature maintenance indication.
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Ana Vitoria Pupo Silvestrini, Bryan Wender Debiasi, Fabiola Garcia Praca, Maria Vitoria Lopes Badra Bentley
Summary: The field of nanomedicine has witnessed significant advancements in the design and study of non-lamellar liquid-crystalline nanoparticles, which possess unique structural and functional characteristics that can be widely applied in drug delivery.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICS
(2022)
Article
Polymer Science
Jessie Wong, Violeta Toader, Linda Reven
Summary: This study demonstrates that lyotropic liquid crystalline (LC) nanomaterials can be achieved from spherical nanoparticles (NPs) with semi-flexible polymer ligands. The high degree of orientation order of the magnetized materials indicates that the splaying of the ligand shell transforms the spherical NPs into rod-like shapes, which then assemble to produce lyotropic LC phases and linear NP arrays.
MACROMOLECULAR RAPID COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Maria Chountoulesi, Diego Romano Perinelli, Aleksander Forys, Varvara Chrysostomou, Archontia Kaminari, Giulia Bonacucina, Barbara Trzebicka, Stergios Pispas, Costas Demetzos
Summary: The study focuses on the challenging sub-cellular targeting and stimuli-responsiveness in pharmaceutical nanotechnology. Glyceryl monooleate (GMO)-based non-lamellar lyotropic liquid crystalline nanoparticles were stabilized by a polymeric block copolymer, which enabled sub-cellular targeting, stimuli-responsiveness, and stealthiness. The physicochemical characteristics, morphology, and drug release profile of the nanosystems were investigated through various techniques. The results showed that the properties of the nanosystems were dependent on the combination of polymeric stabilizers, and the nanosystems exhibited targeted drug delivery to lysosomes with a stimuli-triggered drug release profile.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Barbara Malheiros, Raphael Dias de Castro, Mayra C. Lotierzo, Bruna R. Casadei, Paolo Mariani, Leandro R. S. Barbosa
Summary: The study evaluated the structural properties of phytantriol cubosomes in the presence of increasing HePC concentrations, showing a correlation between the drug concentration and the inner structure of nanoparticles. Higher drug concentrations led to changes in the cubic phases of cubosomes, indicating potential modifications in their surface properties.
COLLOIDS AND SURFACES A-PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND ENGINEERING ASPECTS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Haitao Yu, Brendan P. Dyett, Jiali Zhai, Jamie B. Strachan, Calum J. Drummond, Charlotte E. Conn
Summary: Non-lamellar lyotropic liquid crystal nanoparticles (LLCNPs) are gaining attention in drug delivery and nanomedicine. Traditional methods lack control and reproducibility in particle size distribution and are unsuitable for fragile therapeutics. A scalable, high-throughput strategy is urgently needed. A bottom-up approach was used to formulate LLCNPs with lower polydispersity compared to traditional top-down methods. The particle size could be controlled by varying the flow rate. Stable, drug-loaded cubosomes were successfully formulated using this method. This work promotes the use of LLCNPs in nanomedicine.
JOURNAL OF COLLOID AND INTERFACE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Sarigama Rajesh, Jiali Zhai, Calum J. Drummond, Nhiem Tran
Summary: pH-responsive nanoparticles were developed for the selective delivery of a chemotherapeutic agent to tumours, reducing adverse effects. These nanoparticles exhibited a slow-releasing structure at physiological pH and a quick release structure at the acidic tumour pH. The study demonstrated the potential use of these pH-responsive nanoparticles in delivering and controlling the release of the potent drug SN-38 to tumour sites, addressing the solubility and stability issues of the drug.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Sonja Dieterich, Friedrich Stemmler, Natalie Preisig, Frank Giesselmann
Summary: The use of non-amphiphilic gelators in lyotropic nematic phases allows for the creation of lyotropic nematic gels with preserved micellar aggregate size and shape. These new gels combine the optical properties of a liquid crystal phase with the mechanical stability of a gel, showing promise for applications in stimuli-responsive actuators and sensors.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Zishen Wang, Jing-Yang You, Chuan Chen, Jinchao Mo, Jingyu He, Lishu Zhang, Jun Zhou, Kian Ping Loh, Yuan Ping Feng
Summary: The coexistence of charge density waves (CDWs), superconductivity, and nontrivial topology in monolayer 1H-MSe2 (M = Nb, Ta) has been observed, triggered by momentum-dependent electron-phonon coupling through electron doping. New 2 x 2 CDW phases with nontrivial topology, Dirac cones, and van Hove singularities emerge at a critical electron doping concentration. These 2 x 2 CDW phases are also found to be superconducting. This discovery provides insights into the engineering of nontrivial electronic characters and offers a platform to modulate different quantum states.
NANOSCALE HORIZONS
(2023)
Article
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Zishen Wang, Chuan Chen, Jinchao Mo, Jun Zhou, Kian Ping Loh, Yuan Ping Feng
Summary: This study proposes an ab initio method to accurately describe Fermi surface nesting and electron-phonon coupling (EPC), and systematically investigates their roles in the formation of charge density wave (CDW). The results show that momentum-dependent EPC leads to softening of phonon frequencies, which become imaginary (phonon instabilities) at CDW vectors. Moreover, including EPC in the mean-field model is necessary to correctly predict the distribution of electron instabilities and CDW gap opening. These findings highlight the crucial role of EPC in CDW formation. The analytical approach used in this study is applicable to other CDW systems.
PHYSICAL REVIEW RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Optics
Xianquan Yu, Jinchao Mo, Tiangao Lu, Ting You Tan, Travis L. Nicholson
Summary: The researchers achieved the first magneto-optical trap of an atom in main group III of the Periodic Table and successfully laser cooled indium atoms. They obtained a large number of atoms (5 x 108) with low temperature (about 1 mK) by optimizing the trap parameters. Additionally, they measured the trap lifetime and two-body loss rate.
Article
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Xianquan Yu, Jinchao Mo, Tiangao Lu, Ting You Tan, Travis L. Nicholson
Summary: This article introduces a Zeeman slower for triel elements, which achieves atomic deceleration by driving the transition, opening up possibilities for cooling these elements to ultracold temperatures.
PHYSICAL REVIEW RESEARCH
(2022)
