PEGylation of Phytantriol-Based Lyotropic Liquid Crystalline Particles—The Effect of Lipid Composition, PEG Chain Length, and Temperature on the Internal Nanostructure

Poly(ethylene glycol)-grafted 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamines (DSPE-mPEGs) are a family of amphiphilic lipopolymers attractive in formulating injectable long-circulating nanoparticulate drug formulations. In addition to long circulating liposomes, there is an interest in developing injectable long-circulating drug nanocarriers based on cubosomes and hexosomes by shielding and coating the dispersed particles enveloping well-defined internal nonlamellar liquid crystalline nanostructures with hydrophilic PEG segments. The present study attempts to shed light on the possible PEGylation of these lipidic nonlamellar liquid crystalline particles by using DSPE-mPEGs with three different block lengths of the hydrophilic PEG segment. The effects of lipid composition, PEG chain length, and temperature on the morphology and internal nanostructure of these self-assembled lipidic aqueous dispersions based on phytantriol (PHYT) were investigated by means of synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering and Transmission Electron Cryo-Microscopy. The results suggest that the used lipopolymers are incorporated into the water-PHYT interfacial area and induce a significant effect on the internal nanostructures of the dispersed submicrometer-sized particles. The hydrophilic domains of the internal liquid crystalline nanostructures of these aqueous dispersions are functionalized, i.e., the hydrophilic nanochannels of the internal cubic Pn3m and Im3m phases are significantly enlarged in the presence of relatively small amounts of the used DSPE-mPEGs. It is evident that the partial replacement of PHYT by these PEGylated lipids could be an attractive approach for the surface modification of cubosomal and hexosomal particles. These PEGylated nanocarriers are particularly attractive in designing injectable cubosomal and hexosomal nanocarriers for loading drugs and/or imaging probes.