Cubosome and Hexosome Nanomedicines (CH-NANO) – Yaghmur Group

Non-lamellar liquid crystalline self-assemblies

Through precision nano-engineering and an interdisciplinary approach involving state-of-art biophysical tools,there is a growing interest in the design of soft non-lamellar liquid crystalline nanomedicines (including cubosomes and hexosomes) and non-lamellar liquid crystalline depots and antibacterial coatings with sustained drug release properties. The attractiveness of these self-assemblies is linked to their unique nanostructural versatility, bioadhesive properties, and sustained drug release properties, and capability of solubilizing various drugs. These research activities are at the cutting-edge of nanotechnology, colloid and interface science, materials science and medicine, and in line with recent interests in exploring the potential applications of these self-assemblies and new opportunities in the food nanotechnology research area. This attractiveness is also arises from the proposed important role of lamellar-nonlamellar liquid crystalline transitions in vital biological functions such as membrane fusion, and the resemblance of these nano-self-assemblies to colloidal nanoobjects detected during the digestion of various food products containing triglycerides. 

 

The CH-NANO research group focuses on the following research topics:

i) Development of drug nanocarriers with tunable nanostructures (cubosomes, hexosomes, and other related lipid nanodispersions of inverse non-lamellar liquid crystalline phases).

ii) In situ formation of parenteral dosage forms with tunable liquid crystalline nanostructures at the site of administration.

iii) Development of NAFLD and cancer nanomedicines based on cubosomes and hexosomes.

iv) Design of X-ray compatible microfluidics and SAXS-on-chip characterization of liquid-crystalline nano-self-assemblies.

v) Design of antibacterial coatings with unique structural properties for combating orthopedic implant associated infections.

 

  • H. Jan, S. Ghayas, D. Higazy, N. M. Ahmad, A. Yaghmur, O. Ciofu, “Antibacterial and anti-biofilm activities of antibiotic-free phosphatidylglycerol/docosahexaenoic acid lamellar and non-lamellar liquid crystalline nanoparticles“, J. Colloid Interface Sci. 2024, 669, 537-551.
  • G. D. Kalaycioglu, G. Bor, A. Yaghmur, “Simple-by-design approach for production of stabilizer-free cubosomes from phosphatidylglycerol and docosahexaenoic acid monoglyceride“, J. Colloid Interface Sci.2024, 675, 825-835.
  • A. Yaghmur, S. M. Moghimi, “Intrinsic and dynamic heterogeneity of non-lamellar lyotropic liquid crystalline nanodispersions", ACS Nano 2023, 17, 22, 22183–22195.

  • G. Bor, J.-H. Lin; K.-Y. Lin, H.-C. Chen, R. Prajnamitra, S. Salentinig, P. Hsieh, S. M. Moghimi, A. Yaghmur, “PEGylation of phosphatidylglycerol/docosahexaenoic acid hexosomes with TPGS-mPEG2000 induces morphological transformation into vesicles with prolonged circulation times”, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2022, 14, 48449–48463.

  • A. Yaghmur, M. Rappolt, A. L. Uldall Jonassen, M. Schmitt, S. W. Larsen, “In situ monitoring of the formation of lipidic non-lamellar liquid crystalline depot formulations in synovial fluid”, J. Colloid Interface Sci.2021, 582, 773-781.

  • S. Y. Helvig, L. Woythe, S. Pham, G. Bor , H. Andersen, S. M. Moghimi, A. Yaghmur, ”A structurally diverse library of glycerol monooleate/oleic acid non-lamellar liquid crystalline nanodispersions stabilized with nonionic methoxypoly(ethylene glycol) (mPEG)-lipids showing tunable complement activation properties”, J. Colloid Interface Sci. 2021, 582, 906-917.

  • A. Yaghmur, A. Ghazal, R. Ghazal, M. Dimaki, W. E. Svendsen, ”A Hydrodynamic flow focusing microfluidic device for the continuous production of hexosomes based on docosahexaenoic acid monoglyceride”, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2019, 21, 13005-13013.

  • I. D. M. Azmi, J. Østergaard, S. Stürup, B. Gammelgaard, A. Urtti, S. M. Moghimi, A. Yaghmur, “Cisplatin encapsulation generates morphologically different multi-compartments in the internal nanostructures of non-lamellar liquid crystalline self-assemblies”, Langmuir 2018, 34, 6570–6581.

  • A. Yaghmur, S. Al-Hosayni, H. Amenitsch, S. Salentinig, “Structural investigation of bulk and dispersed inverse lyotropic hexagonal liquid crystalline phases of eicosapentaenoic acid monoglyceride”, Langmuir 2017, 33, 14045–14057.
  • A. Ghazal, M. Gontsarik, J. Kutter, J. Lafleur, D. Ahmadvand, A. Labrador, A. Yaghmur, "Microfluidic platform for the continuous production and characterization of multilamellar vesicles: A synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) Study". J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2017, 8, 73-79.