Flow-Induced Shape Reconfiguration, Phase Separation, and Rupture of Bio-Inspired Vesicles

Red blood cells: a potential delivery system

Red blood cells (RBCs) are the most abundant cells in the body, possessing unique biological and physical properties. RBCs have demonstrated outstanding potential as delivery vehicles due to their low immunogenicity, long-circulating cycle, and immune characteristics, exhibiting delivery abilities. There have been several developments in understanding the delivery system of RBCs and their derivatives, and they have been applied in various aspects of biomedicine. This article compared the various physiological and physical characteristics of RBCs, analyzed their potential advantages in delivery systems, and summarized their existing practices in biomedicine.

Shape Deformation, Budding and Division of Giant Vesicles and Artificial Cells: A Review

The understanding of the shape-change dynamics leading to the budding and division of artificial cells has gained much attention in the past few decades due to an increased interest in designing stimuli-responsive synthetic systems and minimal models of biological self-reproduction. In this respect, membranes and their composition play a fundamental role in many aspects related to the stability of the vesicles: permeability, elasticity, rigidity, tunability and response to external changes. In this review, we summarise recent experimental and theoretical work dealing with shape deformation and division of (giant) vesicles made of phospholipids and/or fatty acids membranes. Following a classic approach, we divide the strategies used to destabilise the membranes into two different types, physical (osmotic stress, temperature and light) and chemical (addition of amphiphiles, the addition of reactive molecules and pH changes) even though they often act in synergy when leading to a complete division process. Finally, we review the most important theoretical methods employed to describe the equilibrium shapes of giant vesicles and how they provide ways to explain and control the morphological changes leading from one equilibrium structure to another.

Stability and Deformation of Vesicles in a Cylindrical Flow

In this work, we used dissipative particle dynamics to study the stability, deformation, and rupture of polymer vesicles confined in cylindrical channels under the flow field. The morphological evolution, elongation, and rupture of vesicles and the corresponding mechanisms were intensively investigated. Bullet-like vesicles, leaking vesicles, spherical micelles, hamburger-like micelles, and bilayers were observed by changing the degree of confinement and dimensionless shear rate. We found that increasing the dimensionless shear rate and the degree of confinement can cause the deformation or rupture of polymeric vesicles. The asphericity parameter was utilized to describe the degree of elongation of vesicles deviating from the sphere in the direction of the flow. The results show that the aggregates are more likely to be spherical when the confinement is weak, while they become elongated bullet-like shapes when the confinement is strong. The investigation of dynamics reveals that the degree of confinement and the dimensionless shear rate can affect the chain stretching and reorganization during the process of vesicle elongation. Furthermore, the rupture time of the vesicle shows a nonlinear decrease with an increase in the dimensionless shear rate, and the confinement also contributes to the rupture. The results are very useful for guiding the application of vesicles in a flow environment.

Optimal ligand-receptor binding for highly efficient capture of vesicles in nanofluidic transportation

Optimizing ligand-receptor binding is essential for exploiting advanced biomedical applications from targeting drug delivery to biosensing. A key challenge is how optimized ligand-receptor binding can be realized during the transport of ligand-modified soft materials through a nanofluidic channel. Here, by combining computer simulations and theoretical analysis, we report that the ligand-receptor binding and resulting capture probability of ligand-functionalized vesicles nonmonotonically depend on their some intrinsic properties, e.g., chain stiffness and vesicle rigidity, during their transport through a nanochannel with imposed Poiseuille flow. Particularly, we find that the systems with semiflexible ligand and receptor chains possess the optimal ligand-receptor binding and capture probability. An analytical model of the blob theory is developed to capture the simulation results quantitatively, leading to a mechanistic interpretation of the optimal vesicle capture based on the conformational-entropy effect. Examination of the detailed dynamics reveals the active rearrangement of ligand-receptor binding during the transport process. Furthermore, the hairy vesicle with moderate rigidity is found to display an enhanced capture probability superior to that of both its soft and hard counterparts, which is rationalized by the faster and more periodic tumbling motion of the semi-rigid vesicle. Our findings highlight that precise control of the intrinsic properties of ligands and receptors as well as the vesicle rigidity can be a versatile strategy in optimizing the ligand-receptor binding in nanofluidic transportation towards advantageous biomedical applications.

Modelling lipid systems in fluid with Lattice Boltzmann Molecular Dynamics simulations and hydrodynamics

In this work we present the coupling between Dry Martini, an efficient implicit solvent coarse-grained model for lipids, and the Lattice Boltzmann Molecular Dynamics (LBMD) simulation technique in order to include naturally hydrodynamic interactions in implicit solvent simulations of lipid systems. After validating the implementation of the model, we explored several systems where the action of a perturbing fluid plays an important role. Namely, we investigated the role of an external shear flow on the dynamics of a vesicle, the dynamics of substrate release under shear, and inquired the dynamics of proteins and substrates confined inside the core of a vesicle. Our methodology enables future exploration of a large variety of biological entities and processes involving lipid systems at the mesoscopic scale where hydrodynamics plays an essential role, e.g. by modulating the migration of proteins in the proximity of membranes, the dynamics of vesicle-based drug delivery systems, or, more generally, the behaviour of proteins in cellular compartments.

Composite Nanotube Ring Structures Formed by Two-Step Self-Assembly for Drug Loading/Release

Nanotube rings are barely reported novel structures formed by the self-assembly of soft matter, as compared with nanotube structures and ring structures. The two-step self-assembly of amphiphilic copolymer AB and solvophobic copolymer CDC was studied. We found that nanotube rings can be formed from a certain mass ratio of copolymer CDC to copolymer AB and block D of certain rigidity. More interestingly, we discovered a new strategy for drug loading and release, which is different from the usual strategies reported in the literature. The present study provides a new rationale for the self-assembly of copolymers.

Branching pattern effect and co-assembly with lipids of amphiphilic Janus dendrimersomes

The influence of the branching patterns on the membrane properties of Janus dendrimers in water has been investigated by dissipative particle dynamics simulations.