Advances in Biomembranes and Lipid Self-Assembly

The Elsevier book series Advances in Biomembranes and Lipid Self-Assembly (previously titled Advances in Planar Lipid Bilayers and Liposomes), provides a global platform for a broad community of experimental and theoretical researchers studying cell membranes, lipid model membranes, and lipid self-assemblies from the micro- to the nanoscale. Planar lipid bilayers are widely studied due to their ubiquity in nature and find their application in the formulation of biomimetic model membranes and in the design of artificial dispersion of liposomes.

Moreover, lipids self-assemble into a wide range of other structures including micelles and the liquid crystalline hexagonal and cubic phases. Consensus has been reached that curved membrane phases do play an important role in nature as well, especially in dynamic processes such as vesicles fusion and cell communication. Self-assembled lipid structures have enormous potential as dynamic materials ranging from artificial lipid membranes to cell membranes, from biosensing to controlled drug delivery, from pharmaceutical formulations to novel food products to mention a few. An assortment of chapters in this volume represents both original research as well as comprehensive reviews written by world leading experts and young researchers.

1. The Importance of Planarity for Lipid Bilayers as BiomembranesKazutami Sakamoto2. Interaction of Cells and Platelets with Biomaterial Surfaces Treated with Gaseous PlasmaIta Junkar3. Competition Between Electrostatic and Thermodynamic Casimir Potentials in Near-Critical Mixtures with IonsAlina Ciach4. Effect of Selected Dendrimers and Dendriplexes on Model Lipid MembranesMaksim Ionov, Tibor Hianik and Maria Bryszewska5. The Membrane Bending Modulus in Experiments and Simulations: A Puzzling PictureDavide Bochicchio and Luca Monticelli6. Bicontinuous Phases of Lyotropic Liquid CrystalsWojciech Gózdz7. Peculiarities in the Study of Pre-formed DSPC Lipid Vesicles by Coarse Grain Molecular DynamicsHassan Chamati, Roman Trobec and Janez I. Pavlic8. Extracellular Vesicles in Cancer Nami Yamada and Yukihiro Akao

experts in the field of chemistry, physics and biology of lipid micro- and nanostructures and biological membranes, and a podium for non-specialists working on the interdisciplinary front

• Surveys recent theoretical and experimental results on lipid micro- and nanostructures
• Presents potential uses of applications like clinically relevant diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, biotechnology, pharmaceutical engineering, and food products
• Provides both original research as well as comprehensive reviews written by world leading experts and young researchers
• Provides a global platform for a broad community of experimental and theoretical researchers studying cell membranes, lipid model membranes, and lipid self-assemblies from the micro- to the nanoscale.