Glycerol monooleate liquid crystalline phases used in drug delivery systems

During the last few decades, both scientific and applied research communities have shown increased attention to self-assembled lyotropic liquid crystalline phases of polar lipids, due to their remarkable structural complexity and usefulness in diverse applications. Amphiphilic properties of polar lipids in relation to water are the driving force for self-assemblies following an extraordinary polymorphism. This polymorphism is an interesting phenomenon in which lipids combine short-range disorder and long-range order. The most widely investigated liquid crystalline phases are the lamellar, the cubic and the hexagonal. Such phases have high solubilization capacity for hydrophilic, lipophilic and amphiphilic guest molecules and the ability to protect molecules against hydrolysis or oxidation. So, they can be used as an interesting drug delivery matrix for drugs, amino acids, peptides, proteins and vitamins in various food, pharmaceutical and biotechnical applications. This review presents recent progress in glycerol monooleate liquid crystalline phases used as drug delivery vehicles.