Electrohydrodynamic Techniques for the Manufacture and/or Immobilization of Vesicles

Abstract

The development of accurate drug delivery systems is one of the main challenges in the biomedical field. A huge variety of structures, such as vesicles, nanoparticles, and nanofibers, have been proposed as carriers for bioactive agents, aiming for precision in administration and dosage, safety, and bioavailability. This review covers the use of electrohydrodynamic techniques both for the immobilization and for the synthesis of vesicles in a non-conventional way. The state of the art discusses the most recent advances in this field as well as the advantages and limitations of electrospun and electrosprayed amphiphilic structures as precursor templates for the in situ vesicle self-assembly. Finally, the perspectives and challenges of combined strategies for the development of advanced structures for the delivery of bioactive agents are analyzed.

PRODAN Photophysics as a Tool to Determine the Bilayer Properties of Different Unilamellar Vesicles Composed of Phospholipids

“…The composition of the systems results in the incorporation of molecules in different regions of the bilayers, which is very promising when this kind of organized medium is designed as a nanocarrier in pharmacological, cosmetic, and food fields. Furthermore, a nonconventional method for vesicle manufacturing from electrospun templates was applied and characterized . A mixture of phospholipids and a polymer was first electrospun to obtain a solid template.…”

“…Furthermore, a nonconventional method for vesicle manufacturing from electrospun templates was applied and characterized. 34 A mixture of phospholipids and a polymer was first electrospun to obtain a solid template. When required, the fibrous membrane was dissolved in water and the vesicle formation took place by self-assembly promoted by the confinement of the components within the micro/nanofibers, as first proposed by Yu et al 35 In this work, the use of crude LC was evaluated using this procedure, and PRODAN was also capable of sensing the bilayer of the resulting vesicles.…”

Synthetic Evolution of a Supramolecular Harpooning Mechanism to Immobilize Vesicles at Antifouling Interfaces

“…This offers advantages such as enhanced vesicle stability, precise delivery to the target site, and improved bioaccessibility due to their protection and closer proximity to the target. [41] Moreover, immobilization of vesicles facilitates the study of vesicles and interactions at their membrane surface. [42] Commonly, vesicles are immobilized in matrices of chitosan, [25,43] alginate, [31,44,45] hyaluronic acid, [26,30] collagen, [32,46] gelatin methacryloyl, [28] and poly(ethylene glycol) [47,48] to name a few.…”

“…This offers advantages such as enhanced vesicle stability, precise delivery to the target site, and improved bioaccessibility due to their protection and closer proximity to the target. [ 41 ] Moreover, immobilization of vesicles facilitates the study of vesicles and interactions at their membrane surface. [ 42 ]…”