Spotlight on Biomimetic Systems Based on Lyotropic Liquid Crystal

Abstract

The behavior of lyotropic biomimetic systems in drug delivery was reviewed. These behaviors are influenced by drug properties, the initial water content, type of lyotropic liquid crystals (LLC), swell ability, drug loading rate, the presence of ions with higher or less kosmotropic or chaotropic force, and the electrostatic interaction between the drug and the lipid bilayers. The in vivo interaction between LCC—drugs, and the impact on the bioavailability of drugs, was reviewed. The LLC with a different architecture can be formed by the self-assembly of lipids in aqueous medium, and can be tuned by the structures and physical properties of the emulsion. These LLC lamellar phase, cubic phase, and hexagonal phase, possess fascinating viscoelastic properties, which make them useful as a dispersion technology, and a highly ordered, thermodynamically stable internal nanostructure, thereby offering the potential as a sustained drug release matrix for drug delivery. In addition, the biodegradable and biocompatible nature of lipids demonstrates a minimum toxicity and thus, they are used for various routes of administration. This review is not intended to provide a comprehensive overview, but focuses on the advantages over non modified conventional materials and LLC biomimetic properties.

Thermotropic Liquid Crystal-Assisted Chemical and Biological Sensors

“…Research that demonstrates true and reliable specificity of LC-assisted sensors employing antibodies, aptamers and similar molecules remains scarce [ 14 ]. Reproducing and simplifying the biomimetic mechanisms of molecular recognition may serve as an efficient way of ensuring the required high specificity of biosensors [ 36 ]. Another important market requirement is that the final sensor platform must be compact and especially easy and ready to use without much preparation.…”

“…Water-soluble discotic shaped molecules may form lyotropic chromonic LC (LCLC) phases [ 34 ]. LCLC find applications in biosensing, where larger agglomerates of antibodies, viruses or even cells may need to be identified [ 35 , 36 ].…”

Synthesis and Properties of Alkoxyethyl β‐d‐Xylopyranoside

“…There should be value in studying sugar‐based amphiprotic nonionic surfactants such as alkyl glycosides with many advantages (Hashim, Sugimura, Minamikawa, & Heidelberg, ) as some of them possess the LC performance. The lyotropic LC behavior and/or thermotropic LC behavior are related to its structure and other physicochemical properties, thereby the specific research results are able to provide a lot of useful information in drug delivery, gene delivery, self‐organization, self‐assembly and supermolecule formation, functional biomembrane, LC biological sensors, and LC‐based immunodetection to some extent (Hashim et al, ; Lagerwall & Scalia, ; de Souza et al, ). We used a polarizing microscope (OPM) to observe the thermotropic LC behavior of the alkoxyethyl β‐ d‐ xylopyranosides ( 6a – 6f , n = 6–12) in the heating process to learn more about the relations between their alkyl chain length and the thermotropic LC performance, and the results are shown in Fig.…”

“…LC phase structures are often found in living organisms. Cellular membranes are the result of lyotropic LC phases resulting from the dissolution of phopholipids in water (de Souza et al, 2017;Lagerwall & Scalia, 2012). There should be value in studying sugar-based amphiprotic nonionic surfactants such as alkyl glycosides with many advantages (Hashim, Sugimura, Minamikawa, & Heidelberg, 2012) as some of them possess the LC performance.…”

Rapid detection of pathogens using lyotropic liquid crystals

“…Nevertheless, water based lyotropics are the preferred alternative in some biological applications, in general, those whose actual working conditions imply the use of hydrophilic media [22]. LLCs have been proposed, for example, as biomimetic vehicles for delivery of sparingly soluble drugs or medical contrast agents [23].…”