Immune-safe and biocompatible drug delivery system based on the non-lamellar liquid crystalline nanostructures

Intan Diana Mat Azmi

Abstract

Immune-safe and biocompatible drug delivery system based on the non-lamellar liquid crystalline nanostructures

Cubosomes and hexosomes are attracting a lot of interest in drug delivery because of their unique features, nanostructural diversity, and ability to solubilize a wide range of medicines and bio-imaging probes. However, their low biocompatibility in human blood, as well as the risk of hemolysis and unintentional activation of the complement system (the body's first line of defence), restrict their usage in parenteral applications (e.g., IV). As a first step toward designing safe and efficient injectable nanocarriers, it is critical to understand the factors affecting these incompatibility issues, such as the stability of these nanostructured dispersions on direct exposure to biological fluids such as plasma and the potential toxicity of the main lipid constituents or stabilisers. This study is supplementary to the previous work. This work present complementary biophysical methods involving SAXS, cryo-TEM, and NTA that were used to gain insight into the structural stability, morphological and size characteristics of these nonlamellar liquid crystalline (LC) nanodispersions upon plasma incubation, as well as to highlight the mechanistic issues pertaining hemocompatibility.