Academic Press Advances in Biomembranes and Lipid Self-Assembly: Volume 24

Advances in Biomembranes and Lipid Self-Assembly, formerly titled Advances in Planar Lipid Bilayers and Liposomes, provides a global platform for a broad community of experimental and theoretical researchers studying cell membranes, lipid model membranes, and lipid self-assemblies from the micro- to the nanoscale. Planar lipid bilayers are widely studied due to their ubiquity in nature and find their application in the formulation of biomimetic model membranes, and in the design of artificial dispersion of liposomes. Moreover, lipids self-assemble into a wide range of other structures, including micelles and the liquid crystalline hexagonal and cubic phases. Consensus has been reached that curved membrane phases do play an important role in nature as well, especially in dynamic processes, such as vesicles fusion and cell communication. Self-assembled lipid structures have enormous potential as dynamic materials ranging from artificial lipid membranes to cell membranes, from biosensing to controlled drug delivery, from pharmaceutical formulations to novel food products to mention a few. An assortment of chapters in this volume represents both original research as well as comprehensive reviews written by world leading experts and young researchers. Review This evolving book series provides a platform for a broad community of experimental and theoretical researchers studying cell membranes, lipid model membranes, and lipid self-assemblies, from the microscale to the nanoscale, presenting their potential for applications in diagnosis and therapy, biotechnology, pharmaceutical engineering, and food products About the Author Ale Igli received his B.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in physics and M.Sc. degree in biophysics from the Department of Physics, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, all from the University of Ljubljana. He is a Full Professor and the Head of Laboratory of Biophysics of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at University of Ljubljana. His main research interests are in electrostatics, mechanics and statistical physics of lipid nanostructures and biological membranes. He is devoted to higher education, basic research in biophysics and close contacts to clinical practice. Prof. Igli was visiting scientist and professor at Åbo Academy University in Turku (Finland), Friedrich Schiller University in Jena (Germany) and Czech Technical University in Prague (Czech Republic). He established collaborations with researchers from different universities across the Europe, USA and India and was supervisor of many M.Sc., Ph.D. and postdoctoral students from Slovenia, Czech Republic, Poland, Iran, Bulgaria, Germany, India and Israel. Since 2009 is the editor of Elsevier book series »Advances in Planar Lipid Bilayers and Liposomes« (APLBL). Chandrashekhar V. Kulkarni received his PhD in Chemical Biology from University of London for which he was in receipt of a Marie Curie Early Stage Researcher Fellowship at Imperial College London (2005-2008). Earlier he completed his BSc (1999) and MSc (2001) in Chemistry from Shivaji University Kolhapur, India and started his research career at the National Chemical Laboratory Pune, India. He had a few postdoc stints at University of Graz-Austria, University of Bayreuth-Germany and University of Cambridge-UK during which he worked on a wide range of projects. In March 2013 Dr Kulkarni started Lipid Nanostructures Group focussing on highly interdisciplinary and cutting-edge projects. Some of his research interests include complex biomembranes and biomolecule interactions, nanostructured lipid particles as carrier systems, and novel nano-bio-applications of lipid nanostructures. Dr Kulkarni joined the editorial board of APLBL in early 2013 and later as an editor of this book series. Michael Rappolt has been appointed as Professor of Lipid Biophysics (School of Food Science and Nutrition) in April 2