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Updated: Apr 19, 2026

Using the Droplet Transfer Method to Reliably Prepare Giant Unilamellar Vesicles
Published on: September 19, 2025
Oil transfer converts phosphatidylcholine vesicles into nonlamellar lyotropic liquid crystalline particles
Isabelle Martiel1, Stephan Handschin, Wye-Khay Fong
1Food and Soft Materials Science, Institute of Food, Nutrition & Health, ETH Zurich , Schmelzbergstrasse 9, CH-8092 Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Abstract:
There is a need for the development of low-energy dispersion methods tailored to the formation of phospholipid-based nonlamellar lyotropic liquid crystalline (LLC) particles for delivery system applications. Here, facile formation of nonlamellar LLC particles was obtained by simple mixing of a phosphatidylcholine (PC) liposome solution and an oil-in-water emulsion, with limonene or isooctane as an oil. The internal structure of the particles was controlled by the PC-to-oil ratio, consistently with the sequence observed in bulk phase. For the first time, reverse micellar cubosomes with Fm3̅m inner structure were produced. The size, morphology, and inner structure of the particles were characterized by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and freeze-fracture cryo scanning electron microscopy (cryo-SEM). These findings pave the way to new strategies in low-energy formulation of LLC delivery systems.
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