Development and Characterization of a Novel Lipid-Polymer Hybrid Nanocarrier

Aria Khalili – PhD Student Employee, Quantum and Nanotechnology Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, 11421 Saskatchewan Drive, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2M9, Canada; Soheyl Tadjiki – Managing Director, Postnova Analytics Inc; Jae-Young Cho – Senior Research Officer, Quantum and Nanotechnology Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, 11421 Saskatchewan Drive, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2M9, Canada; Afsaneh Lavasanifar – Professor, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Introduction:

Liposomes and polymeric micelles (PMs) are widely studied nanocarriers. Liposomes (Lips) offer biocompatibility and efficient drug encapsulation but often result in early leakage of hydrophobic drugs. Polymeric micelles from amphiphilic block copolymers can entrap hydrophobic drugs but exhibit low entrapment of hydrophilic drugs and poor in vivo stability. To address these limitations, we developed a hybrid lipid–polymer nanocarrier (HLC) consisting of lipid vesicles and methoxy-polyethylene glycol-block-poly(α-benzyl carboxylate-ε-caprolactone) (PEG-b-PBCL) PMs, aiming to integrate their advantages while minimizing their individual limitations.