Controlling molecular transport and sustained drug release in lipid-based liquid crystalline mesophases

Lipid-based lyotropic liquid crystals, also referred to as reversed liquid crystalline mesophases, such as bicontinuous cubic, hexagonal or micellar cubic phases, have attracted deep interest in the last few decades due to the possibility of observing these systems at thermodynamic equilibrium in excess water conditions. This becomes of immediate significance for applications in the colloidal environment, such as in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical arenas. One possible application regarded as very promising is that of controlled delivery of functional ingredients. Different crystallographic structures of the lipid mesophase give access to different diffusion coefficients and distinct diffusion modes. It becomes thus crucial to engineer the space group of the mesophase in a controlled way, and ideally, in a stimuli-responsive manner. In this article we review the state of the art on diffusion and molecular transport in lipid-based mesophases and we discuss recent contributions to the controlled delivery of molecules and colloids through these systems. In particular we focus on the different available strategies relying on either endogenous or exogenous stimuli to induce changes in the symmetry and transport properties of lipid-based mesophases and we discuss the impact and implications this may have on controlled drug delivery.