Fundamental studies of adhesion phenomena involving vesicles

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Vesicles are micron or nanometer-sized particles which compartmentalize a finite volume of liquid with the help of a bounding membrane. Vesicle-based products such as fabric softeners, skin creams, hair lotions, and therapeutics such as Doxil (chemotherapeutic) and Amphotericin (antifungal) together constitute a multi-billion dollar business worldwide. However, due to the trial-and-error, experimentally-focused nature of development of many of these products, a fundamental understanding of what factors would lead to lesser raw material consumption, more efficient resource usage, lower environmental impact and better product function is still lacking. This project represents a first step towards the development of a systematic understanding of the above relationships. In particular, we focus on one phenomenon that governs optimization of vesicle-based products - vesicle adhesion (i.e. vesicle sticking). Vesicle adhesion is a crucial step in the function of products such as lotions and therapeutics; on the other hand, it is a menace for products such as fabric softeners, and leads to creaming or settling of the active material in these products.