Recent studies of lyotropic lipidic cubic phases

Lyotropic lipidic cubic phases (LCPs), a subgroup of liquid-crystalline mesophases, are formed spontaneously via the self-assembly of certain lipids in an aqueous environment within a defined range of temperature. Nowadays, LCPs are deeply rooted in the crystallization of integral membrane proteins for their structural characterization by X-ray crystallography. Moreover, these nanomaterials are highly prospective drug and nutrient carriers and release matrices. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, both solution and solid-state, has traditionally been used for the characterization of lipid and surfactant systems, including LCPs. In this Chapter, a number of recently reported studies involving the analysis of LCPs by solution NMR and PGSE NMR spectroscopy are examined and some future perspectives discussed. These include the quantification of hydration, long-term stability, additive lipid induced 13C chemical shift perturbations, hydration dynamics, chemical exchange, 13C relaxation-based analyses of hydrocarbon chain dynamics, and encapsulation of soluble globular proteins.