Lipid Nanostructures Laboratory
Lipids, so called ‘fats’, are essential part of our life, ranging from cellular membranes to the oily layer on plant leaves, from foods that we eat to the cosmetic creams that we use, and so on. The structural hierarchy of lipids occurring in these applications varies from simple planar bilayers and spherical shapes to highly complex multiscale architectures.
Owing to the amphiphilic nature (hydrophilic+hydrophobic), lipid molecules spontaneously organize into a remarkable range of self-assemblies in aqueous environments. These include liquid crystalline lyotropic phases namely lamellar (1-D), hexagonal (2-D) and cubic (3-D) phases. Moreover, when subjected to physicochemical or physiological changes, they undergo phase transitions, governed essentially by chemical or structural changes and/or rearrangement of involved lipid molecules.
Owing to the amphiphilic nature (hydrophilic+hydrophobic), lipid molecules spontaneously organize into a remarkable range of self-assemblies in aqueous environments. These include liquid crystalline lyotropic phases namely lamellar (1-D), hexagonal (2-D) and cubic (3-D) phases. Moreover, when subjected to physicochemical or physiological changes, they undergo phase transitions, governed essentially by chemical or structural changes and/or rearrangement of involved lipid molecules.
Journal Table of Contents/Graphical Abstracts
We work on understanding and employing lipid self-assemblies and their hierarchically organized structures for various applications ranging from biophysical chemistry to pharmaceutical and other applied sciences.