Three-Dimensional Microphase Separation and Synergistic Permeability in Stacked Lipid-Polymer Hybrid Membranes.

ABSTRACT: We present new structures of soft-material thin films that augment the functionality of substrate-mediated delivery systems. A hybrid material composed of phospholipids and block copolymers adopts a multilayered membrane structure supported on a solid surface. The hybrid films comprise intentional intramembrane heterogeneities that register across multilayers. These stacked domains convey unprecedented enhancement and control of permeability of solutes across micrometer-thick films. Using grazing incidence X-ray scattering, phase contrast atomic force microscopy, and confocal microscopy, we observed that in each lamella, lipid and polymers partition unevenly within the membrane plane segregating into lipid- or polymer-rich domains. Interestingly, we found evidence that like-domains align i

SUBMITTER: Kang M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6516788 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature