Gonçalves MC, Rodrigues AM, Sabino A, Corvo ML and Martins MB
The unique characteristics of liposomes make them interesting vehicles for diagnostic performance. However, when oral administration is envisaged, the adjustment of liposomes surface chemistry is mandatory. Silica-coated liposomes, Liposils for short, become a promising route. In the present work a novel time-saving process is proposed for liposomes’ coating. Two sets of charged liposomes are prepared by lipid hydration and dimensioned through extrusion techniques. The first liposomes set are silica-coated with classical sol-gel Stöber protocol (and used as a reference) while in the second set a modified LaMer process is proved. The resulting Liposil structures are characterized by Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), Zeta Potential (ζ), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Fourier Transformed Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Near Infrared (NIR) spectroscopy.