Characterisation of internally supported liposomes

Internally stabilised liposomes' (ISLs) are composed of a solid spherical core enclosed by a lipid bilayer. As with any other composite material, the purpose of combining two structural elements is to obtain the benefits of both components within one hybrid system. In this case, we are interested in combining the stability of the core with the functionality of the lipid bilayer. Understanding ISLs could have a huge impact on many areas of scientific and technological endeavour, including elucidating the origins of enveloped virus stability, developing improved drug, vaccine and gene delivery systems, advancing liposome biophysics, improving bioseparation systems, creating synthetic biological components and eventually intelligent nanoscale machines. Here, we present further results for the characterisation of model ISL systems, including data from small-angle X-ray scattering.