Many active drugs are characterized by poor aqueous solubility, sensitivity or instability, and thus suffer from suboptimal delivery efficiency. Some newer pharmaceuticals, especially those based on gene therapy in which the drug to be delivered consists of therapeutic genetic fragments, need a carrier vehicle for protection and for facilitating up-take by target cells. The food and cosmetics industries also require efficient and non-toxic solubilising agents, and there also exists a need for biologically stable lubricants and surfactants that are not derived from animal material.

Research at Aston has led to the development of a novel nanostructured material that acts as both a lubricant and a surfactant, and subsequently as a delivery agent for pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. The new material consists of minute sheets of lecithin surrounded by a water soluble synthetic polymer in a doughnut arrangement. The material is produced with a combination of synthetic polymers and natural fats and mimics the size and orientation of nanostructures found in nature, such as lipoprotein assemblies. The polymer used has previously been employed in an injectable anti-cancer medication, and is therefore approved for human use.