Temperature- and rigidity-mediated rapid transport of lipid nanovesicles in hydrogels

Significance Lipid vesicles such as liposomes are widely present in biological systems and drug delivery applications. Numerous studies have focused on their roles in intercellular communication, signaling, and trafficking. Little is known, however, about the correlation between temperature and transport rate of these vesicles in biological media. Here, we report a temperature- and rigidity-mediated rapid transport mechanism by which liposomes attain optimal diffusivity near a phase transition temperature. Remarkably, liposomes with phase transition temperature around the body temperature are observed to overcome multiple biological barriers and show substantial improvement in drug delivery efficacy.