O04_01

Biomimetic Multicellular Lipid-Based Membranes for Stimulus-Responsive Drug Delivery

Molecular Robotics Laboratory, Department of Robotics, Grad.Sch.Eng.,Tohoku Univ. 
( * E-mail: tsuyoshi.inaba.q7@dc.tohoku.ac.jp)

Drug delivery systems have garnered attention as a method to utilize existing drugs more efficiently, raising expectations for effective treatments with fewer side effects. However, medications applied to the skin, such as patches and ointments, still rely on uncontrolled diffusion for delivery. This study proposes the use of bio-inspired lipid-hybrid membranes to structurally control the release of model drugs through cell-like compartmentalization. Using biocompatible amphiphilic molecules, we demonstrated the facile self-assembly of aqueous-based micro-compartments into tightly packed centimeter-scale “multicellular” systems within a portable polysaccharide matrix. This lipid-based micro-compartmentalization strategy allows for the separation and storage of multiple drugs, potentially enabling stepwise or sustained delivery in response to environmentally triggered membrane solubilization. Membrane solubilization and drug release was conducted with a surfactant which was highly dependent on solution concentrations of salt (NaCl), giving an environmental trigger for release. Encapsulation of multiple model drugs with lipid-membrane based spatial separation demonstrated time delayed drug release with environmental sensitivity. This research could lead to the development of highly customizable medical patches for smart drug delivery.