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A Package of Established Analytical Tools to Investigate the Solid-State Alteration of Lipid-Based Excipients
Published on: August 9, 2022
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Metastability in lipid based particles exhibits temporally deterministic and controllable behavior
Guy Jacoby1, Keren Cohen2, Kobi Barkan1
1The Raymond and Beverly Sackler School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel.
Scientific Reports
|March 31, 2015
Summary
Lipid phase transitions can be surprisingly controllable. Researchers found that the delay in lipid recrystallization is predetermined and can be manipulated by altering lipid mixtures and environmental conditions.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Physical Chemistry
- Biophysics
Background:
- Metastable-to-stable phase transitions are common but poorly understood in lipid systems.
- Self-assembled lipid suspensions exhibit complex phase-transition dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the phase-transition dynamics of lipid-based particles (DLPE/DLPG mixtures).
- Understand the mechanisms behind delayed recrystallization in lipid systems.
- Explore methods to control phase-transition timing.
Main Methods:
- Studied phase transitions of dilauroylphosphatidylethanolamine (DLPE) and dilauroylphosphatidylglycerol (DLPG) mixtures.
- Cooled mixtures from 60°C to 37°C to induce liquid crystalline-to-crystalline transition.
- Manipulated lipid stoichiometry, solvent salinity, and ionophore presence.
Main Results:
- Observed a robust, predetermined, and controllable delay in recrystallization lasting tens of hours.
- Demonstrated that delay time is tunable via lipid composition, salinity, ionophores, and transition history.
- Delay time distribution suggests a deterministic, non-stochastic mechanism.
Conclusions:
- The delayed recrystallization in these lipid systems is not random but governed by controllable physical processes.
- A qualitative model is proposed for the structural reorganization during the phase transition.
- Findings offer insights into controlled metastability in self-assembled systems.
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