Lipid-Based Systems: Multifunctional Platforms for Biomedical and Environmental Applications

Lipid-based systems have emerged as versatile platforms with remarkable advantages for a broad spectrum of applications in both biomedical and environmental fields. In biomedical applications, lipid-based systems, including liposomes and lipid mesophases, offer exceptional biocompatibility and biodegradability, making them ideal candidates for drug delivery systems. Their ability to encapsulate a different range of therapeutic agents, including hydrophobic and hydrophilic compounds, facilitates targeted drug delivery, improving therapeutic efficacy while minimizing systemic side effects. Moreover, the lipid-based carriers can be engineered to respond to specific stimuli, enabling controlled release and personalized medicine approaches. Lipid-based materials exhibit a low environmental impact, aligning with sustainable practices in the environmental field. They are mostly used for delivering remediation agents to contaminated sites, and enhancing the wool and cotton dyeing process. Over the course of these three years, my focus has been on four main topics: the use of liposomes for the delivery of hydrophilic molecules (levodopa and vancomycin); the development of lipid mesophase-based beads as an innovative platform for sustained release of hydrophilic and hydrophobic molecules; the application of magnetoliposomes for the treatment of polluted textile wastewater; and the application of liposomes in enhancing the wool dyeing process. In each of the five projects, the relationship between the components of the lipid-based formulations and the results obtained was studied to understand which parameters are crucial for the success of the formulations.