Glycerol prevents dehydration in lipid cubic phases

Richardson, S. J., Staniec, P. A., Newby, G. E., Rawle, J. L., Slaughter, A. R., Terrill, N. J., Elliott, J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7469-4154 and Squires, A. (2015) Glycerol prevents dehydration in lipid cubic phases. Chemical Communications, 51 (57). pp. 11386-11389. ISSN 1359-7345 doi: 10.1039/c5cc03771a

Abstract/Summary

Lipid cubic phase samples dry out and undergo phase transitions when exposed to air. We demonstrate experimentally and theoretically that adding glycerol controllably lowers the humidity at which cubic phases form. These results broaden the potential applications of cubic phases and open up the potential of a new humidityresponsive nanomaterial.