Design and Characterization of Nanostructured Biomaterials via the Self-assembly of Lipids
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Design and Characterization of Nanostructured Biomaterials via the Self-assembly of Lipids Paul Ludford, Fikret Aydin and Meenakshi Dutt Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Rutgers- The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA ABSTRACT We are interested in designing nanostructured biomaterials using nanoscopic building blocks such as functionalized nanotubes and lipid molecules. In our earlier work, we summarized the multiple control parameters which direct the equilibrium morphology of a specific class of nanostructured biomaterials. Individual lipid molecules were composed of a hydrophilic head group and two hydrophobic tails. A bare nanotube encompassed an ABA architecture, with a hydrophobic shaft (B) and two hydrophilic ends (A). We introduced hydrophilic hairs at one end of the tube to enable selective transport through the channel. The dimensions of the nanotube were set to minimize its hydrophobic mismatch with the lipid bilayer. We used a Molecular Dynamics-based mesoscopic simulation technique called Dissipative Particle Dynamics which simultaneously resolves the structure and dynamics of the nanoscopic building blocks and the hybrid aggregate. The amphiphilic lipids and functionalized nanotubes self-assembled into a stable hybrid vesicle or a bicelle in the presence of a hydrophilic solvent. We showed that the morphology of the hybrid structures was directed by factors such as the temperature, the rigidity of the lipid molecules, and the concentration of the nanotubes. Another type of hybrid nanostructured biomaterial could be multi-component lipid bilayers. In this paper, we present approaches to design hybrid nanostructured materials using multiple lipid species with different chemistries and molecular chain stiffness. INTRODUCTION Our goal is to design hybrid nanostructured biomaterials for use in controlled release applications such as targeted drug delivery, sensing and imaging. These applications require a material platform that can store active compounds and release them upon demand. Our earlier investigations on hybrid nanostructured biomaterials composed of functionalized nanotubes and amphiphilic lipid molecules demonstrated the formation of hybrid lipid bilayers [1 - 5.] We demonstrated that the morphology of the hybrid aggregate depended upon the concentration of the nanotubes [2], their functionalization [2], the temperature and the molecular chain stiffness of the lipid hydrophobic tails [4.] In this paper, we present our investigations in designing hybrid nanostructured biomaterials using lipid species with different chemistries and molecular chain stiffness. Via the Dissipative Particle Dynamics (DPD) approach [1 – 6] we will investigate the mixing, phase separation and domain formation of a two-component lipid vesicle. Individual lipids are composed of a hydrophilic head group and two hydrophobic tails. We begin with a stable pre-assembled vesicle composed of two species of amphiphilic lipid molecules varying in chemistry or lipid hydrophobic tail molecular rigi
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