The Formation of a 12-Hydroxystearic Acid/Vegetable Oil Organogel Under Shear and Thermal Fields

Risperidone-Loaded PLGA-Lipid Particles with Improved Release Kinetics: Manufacturing and Detailed Characterization by Electron Microscopy and Nano-CT

For parenteral controlled drug release, the desired zero order release profile with no lag time is often difficult to achieve. To overcome the undesired lag time of the current commercial risperidone controlled release formulation, we developed PLGA-lipid microcapsules (MCs) and PLGA-lipid microgels (MGs). The lipid phase was composed of middle chain triglycerides (MCT) or isopropylmyristate (IPM). Hydroxystearic acid was used as an oleogelator. The three-dimensional inner structure of Risperidone-loaded MCs and MGs was assessed by using the invasive method of electron microscopy with focused ion beam cutting (FIB-SEM) and the noninvasive method of high-resolution nanoscale X-ray computed tomography (nano-CT). FIB-SEM and nano-CT measurements revealed the presence of highly dispersed spherical structures around two micrometres in size. Drug release kinetics did strongly depend on the used lipid phase and the presence or absence of hydroxystearic acid. We achieved a nearly zero order release without a lag time over 60 days with the MC-MCT formulation. In conclusion, the developed lipid-PLGA microparticles are attractive alternatives to pure PLGA-based particles. The advantages include improved release profiles, which can be easily tuned by the lipid composition.

The role of structural anisotropy in the magnetooptical response of an organoferrogel with mobile magnetic nanoparticles

We investigate the structure and the magnetooptical response of isotropic and anisotropic fibrillous organoferrogels with mobile magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs). We demonstrate that the presence of the gel network restricts the magnetooptical response of the ferrogel. Even though the ferrogel exhibits no magnetic hysteresis, an optical hysteresis has been found. This suggests that the magnetooptical response is primarily determined by the dynamics of self-assembly of the MNPs into shape-anisotropic agglomerates. Furthermore, we show that the optical anisotropy of the system can be fine-tuned by varying the concentration of the gelator and the MNPs, respectively. The optical response in structurally anisotropic gels becomes orientation-dependent, revealing an intricate interplay between the gel mesh and the MNPs.

Beyond Covalent Crosslinks: Applications of Supramolecular Gels

Traditionally, gels have been defined by their covalently cross-linked polymer networks. Supramolecular gels challenge this framework by relying on non-covalent interactions for self-organization into hierarchical structures. This class of materials offers a variety of novel and exciting potential applications. This review draws together recent advances in supramolecular gels with an emphasis on their proposed uses as optoelectronic, energy, biomedical, and biological materials. Additional special topics reviewed include environmental remediation, participation in synthesis procedures, and other industrial uses. The examples presented here demonstrate unique benefits of supramolecular gels, including tunability, processability, and self-healing capability, enabling a new approach to solve engineering challenges.

Molecular and microstructural characterization of lecithin-based oleogels made with vegetable oil

Lecithin-based oleogels consist of a worm-like entangled fibrous 3D network. Small angle X-ray diffraction suggests that these microfibres are formed by the packing of reverse hexagonal (H_II) tubules parallel to the axis of fibres.

Structural and viscoelastic characterization of ternary mixtures of sunflower oil, saturated monoglycerides and aqueous phases containing different bases

The structure at different length scales and the viscoelastic properties of ternary mixtures composed of saturated monoglycerides, sunflower oil and aqueous solutions of weak bases (KHCO₃, NaHCO₃, and NH₄HCO₃) or strong bases (NaOH and KOH) were investigated. The characteristics of ternary mixtures were studied systematically by using polarized light microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), synchrotron X-ray diffraction (XRD) and rheological analysis. Results showed that the base type and concentration greatly affected the structure of the mixtures. The use of strong bases allowed gelled systems to be obtained only at low concentrations (<10mM). On the contrary, the presence of weak bases induced gelling at all concentrations considered (from 1 to 1000mM). The increase of base concentration led to a reduction of the mean droplet diameter and melting temperature. At the same time, the viscoelastic characteristics as a function of base concentration followed a more complex behavior: G' and G″ progressively decreased as the salt concentration increased in a concentration range from 1 to 100mM, while the rheological parameters increased when salt concentration increased from 100 to 1000mM. The structural and viscoelastic behavior of systems prepared with different salts were commonly independent of the cation present in the medium. Results highlight that it is possible to tailor the structure of these gels by using specific bases.