Development and Characterization of Nanoscale Gel-Core Liposomes Using a Short Self-Assembled Peptide Hydrogel: Implications for Drug Delivery

Targeted drug delivery systems, delivering drugs to specificlocations,are an emerging research interest spanning the fields of nanotechnology,bionanotechnology, and precision medicine. Topical or transdermaldelivery has many advantages over traditional injection and oral delivery.Not only can it reduce the risk of systemic exposure and overdosebut also it is better tolerated by certain patients. However, skinpenetration remains a challenge given the protection conferred bythe outermost skin layer (stratum corneum), preventingforeign materials, such as pathogenic substances, from infiltratingthe body. A promising alternative to overcome the stratumcorneum delivery challenge combines the self-assembling propertiesof nanoscale systems, like liposomes, with peptide hydrogelators,creating an effective topical drug delivery system that couldcrossthe protective skin barrier. Presented herein is the successful productionof gel-core liposomes using two short self-assembled peptide hydrogels.The subsequent composite gel-core liposomes were extensively characterizedusing a range of techniques including microscopy and SANS.