Cilia-Structured Lipiodol Droplets Enable Long-Term Transarterial Embolization Therapy by Nano-Interlocking Adhesion

Transarterial embolization (TAE) offers an effective and minimally invasive therapy for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), one of the most lethal malignancies globally, but being limited by short-term embolization failure for example recanalization due to weak interfacial adhesion. Herein, we report cilia-structured lipiodol (CS-lipiodol) droplets by self-assembling dual-asymmetric microparticles with hydrophilic cilia-structured hemispheres and hydrophobic plain hemispheres at the lipiodol-water interface, enabling long-term TAE therapy by the cilia-mediated nano-interlocking effect. CS-lipiodol droplets exhibit strong interfacial adhesion and viscoelastic deformability through the nano-interlocking effect and the Pickering-like architecture, allowing tight and efficient occlusion across multiple in vitro embolization models. The enhanced interfacial adhesion to vascular cells and adjacent droplets confers long-term vascular occlusion and approximately three-fold higher in vivo embolization rates than commercial embolic agents. In the orthotopic rabbit HCC model, purely physical occlusion with CS-lipiodol droplets induced superior tumor volume reduction. Our study provides a healthcare material platform for long-term and vascular-adaptive TAE therapy.