Open AccessAFM, ESEM, TEM, and CLSM in liposomal characterization: a comparative study
Author(s) -
Barbara Ruozi,
Daniela Belletti,
A. Tombesi,
Giovanni Tosi,
Lucia Bondioli,
Flavio Forni,
Maria Angela Vandelli
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
international journal of nanomedicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.245
H-Index - 128
eISSN - 1178-2013
pISSN - 1176-9114
DOI - 10.2147/ijn.s14615
Subject(s) - nanotechnology , materials science , characterization (materials science) , scanning confocal electron microscopy , environmental scanning electron microscope , scanning ion conductance microscopy , nanocarriers , liposome , scanning electron microscope , microscopy , confocal microscopy , scanning probe microscopy , transmission electron microscopy , drug delivery , optics , physics , composite material
An outstanding aspect of pharmaceutical nanotechnology lies in the characterization of nanocarriers for targeting of drugs and other bioactive agents. The development of microscopic techniques has made the study of the surface and systems architecture more attractive. In the field of pharmaceutical nanosystems, researchers have collected vital information on size, stability, and bilayer organization through the microscopic characterization of liposomes. This paper aims to compare the results obtained by atomic force microscopy, environmental scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and confocal laser scanning microscopy to point out the limits and advantages of these applications in the evaluation of vesicular systems. Besides this comparative aim, our work proposes a simple confocal laser scanning microscopy procedure to rapidly and easily detect the liposomal membrane.
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