A major challenge in the delivery of cargo (genes and/or drugs) to cells using nanostructured vehicles is the ability to safely penetrate plasma membranes by escaping the endosome before degradation, later releasing the payload into the cytoplasm or organelle of interest. Lipids are a class of bio-compatible molecules that self-assemble into a variety of liquid crystalline constructs. Most of these materials can be used to encapsulate drugs, proteins, and nucleic acids to deliver them safely into various cell types. Lipid phases offer a plethora of structures capable of forming complexes with biomolecules, most notably nucleic acids. The physichochemical characteristics of the lipid molecular building blocks, one might say the lipid primary structure, dictates how they collectively interact to assemble into various secondary structures. These include bilayers, lamellar stacks of bilayers, two-dimensional (2D) hexagonal arrays of lipid tubes, and even 3D cubic constructs. The liquid crystalline materials can be present in the form of aqueous suspensions, bulk materials or confined to a film configuration depending on the intended application (e.g. bolus vs surface-based delivery). This work compiles recent findings of different lipid-based liquid crystalline constructs both in films and particles for gene and drug delivery applications. We explore how lipid primary and secondary structures endow liquid crystalline materials with the ability to carry biomolecular cargo and interact with cells.

使用纳米结构载体将货物（基因和/或药物）输送到细胞的一个主要挑战是能够在降解之前通过逃逸内体来安全地穿透质膜，然后将有效负载释放到感兴趣的细胞质或细胞器中。脂质是一类生物相容性分子，可自组装成各种液晶结构。这些材料中的大多数可用于封装药物、蛋白质和核酸，以将它们安全地输送到各种细胞类型中。脂质相提供了大量能够与生物分子（尤其是核酸）形成复合物的结构。脂质分子构件的物理化学特征，可以说脂质一级结构，决定了它们如何共同相互作用以组装成各种二级结构。这些包括双层、双层层状堆叠、脂质管的二维 (2D) 六边形阵列，甚至 3D 立方结构。液晶材料可以以水悬浮液、散装材料的形式存在，或者根据预期应用（例如，丸剂与基于表面的递送）而限于膜构造。这项工作汇集了用于基因和药物输送应用的薄膜和颗粒中不同的基于脂质的液晶结构的最新发现。我们探索脂质一级和二级结构如何赋予液晶材料携带生物分子货物并与细胞相互作用的能力。