Lipid Fatty Acid Chain Length Influence over Liposome Physicochemical Characteristics Produced in a Periodic Disturbance Mixer

Liposomes nanoparticles (LNPs) are versatile delivery systems that transport from drugs to genes. Liposome physicochemical properties determine how lipid nanoparticles will interact with biological systems. Thus, tuning these characteristics is of paramount importance for developing innovative formulations. Micromixers have shown to control average liposome size in a range relevant for drug delivery applications (50–200 nm) by changing the flow conditions. However, other factors might dramatically change liposome properties, such as the lipid fatty acid chain length. In this work, liposomes were produced using a periodic disturbance mixer (PDM) utilizing two different types of lipid mixtures, which differ solely in the number of carbons in the lipid fatty acid chain of the primary lipid as well as in the lipid mixture concentration. A clear relationship between these properties and liposome size and size distribution was found. The studied factors did not influence zeta potential results. The bending elasticity modulus of the studied lipids and their terminal head groups might play a role in the observed liposome properties.