Mixed lipid/polymer nanostructures: From advanced materials to drug delivery systems

The aim of this investigation was to study the alterations of the physicochemical characteristics of L-α-phosphatidylcholine, hydrogenated (Soy) (HSPC) and dipalmitoyl phosphatidyl choline (DPPC) liposomes, caused by the incorporation of a poly (oligoethylene glycol acrylate)-b-poly(lauryl acrylate) (POEGA-PLA) block copolymer at different molar ratios. We used Dynamic and Electrophoretic Light Scattering to determine the size and the ζ-potential; imaging techniques for investigate the structure and Static Light Scattering for quantifying the fractal morphology of the prepared nanosystems in situ. The size of mixed nanostructures became smaller with the incorporation of the block copolymer into the lipid membrane. The size of the prepared nanosystems ranged between 50-80nm. The fractal dimension (df) decreased significantly with the incorporation of block copolymer into liposomal bilayers. The morphology of DPPC:POEGA-PLA mixed nanostructures (with df equal to 1.8) is open (more loose