A new method for producing uniform, self-assembled liposomes (a type of artifcial cell) has been developed by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). It may lead to an improved method for encapsulating drug therapies.

Current bulk methods for producing liposomes produce particles in a wide range of sizes, which must be sorted and filtered before being used for drug delivery, since dosage depends critically on size.

The new NIST method uses micrometer-size channels etched into a device to produce self-assembled liposomes of specific sizes as small as about 100 nm.

National Inventors Hall of Fame press release