I made a hybrid system composed of amphiphilic polymer (Mw=15000, hydrophilic part=5000) and ionic lipid (Mw=700), they can self-assembled into stable nanoparticles. The Cryo-TEM showed they are hexagonal nanoparticles with quite clear layer and lots of black dots inside. I was wondering what's the black dots inside the nanoparticles? If they are lipids, what's their specific structure? For example, are they micelles or bilayer liposomes structure inside the nanoparticles?
Xuhan Liu
Self-organization comes through the intermolecular interaction of water molecules. If you received vesicles at room temperature. and then cool, then the structure of water changes, and with it the structure of liposomes changes. Black dots are ionic surfactants that crystallize at low temperature. If you compare the structure by the SAXS method at room temperature and the cryoTEM method, then these will be different structures.
Dear researcher,
Self-assembling behavior is the nature of the hydrophilic compartment, especially nano-complexes. There are two probable issues for these black dots: 1. It can be related to the crystalization of ionic lipids after assembling of nano-complex which is directly related to preservation approach and synthesis conditions. 2. The nature of polymer can be involved in the formation of these black dots. Where can it form intermolecular interaction with lipid spheres (inside or outside) since it is amphiphilic?
You can firstly synthesize a lipid-based compartment and then modify its surface by polymeric materials in order to avoid this interference.
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