Description du sujet de thèse

Lipid cubosomes and hexosomes are fascinating structures with a highly ordered porous scaffold (thanks to the presence of internal water channels) which make them appealing in the field of drug delivery [1]. Indeed, the large lipophilic area and the high specific surface area of the internal mesophase enable these structures to incorporate both hydrophobic and hydrophilic species.
Polymer liquid crystalline nanoparticles (LCNs) also exist and can attain much larger structural parameters, but they suffer from difficulties in their formulation and restricted range of existence.
The main bottleneck to the wide use of lipid LCNs is the cost and the limited range of structural parameters (i.e. internal channel size and lattice spacing) attainable with monolein and phytantriol, the mostly used constituents.
In an original and simple way, we want to address these two major limitations and extend the achievable lattice sizes of LCNs using economic alternatives.
The goal of the PhD project will be to mix Vitamin E (VitE) derivatives and structurally compatible macromolecules with the aim to obtain stable, reproducible dispersions of LCNs whose topology and structural parameters can be modulated by the copolymer composition and amount. The physico-chemical properties of the new LCNs (i.e. size, dispersion, internal channel size, loading and release of model drugs) will be characterized as well as the therapeutic efficiency of loaded model drugs.
This project will develop skills in physico-chemical characterization (Small Angle X-ray Scattering, SAXS, Dynamic Light Scattering, DLS, Differential Scanning Calorimetry, DSC, optical microscopy) and some basis in cell culture.
[1] Barriga, H.M.G. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2018, 57, 2–23
KEYWORDS: Liquid crystalline nanoparticles, cubosomes, hexosomes, gradient copolymers, amphiphilic copolymers
CANDIDATE PROFILE: The candidate should have a background in physical chemistry and possibly synthesis and demonstrate a genuine interest in interdisciplinary work. He/she should be curious and eager to learn various methods and techniques for in-deep physico-chemical characterization. The ability to design and conduct experiments independently, as well as analyze and interpret data critically, is essential. Intellectual curiosity and the ability to work creatively and rigorously in an interdisciplinary research environment would be appreciated.

Contexte de travail

The Laboratory of Chemistry of Colloids, Polymers, and Complex Assemblies (SOFTMAT), CNRS UMR 5623 in Toulouse, is dedicated to research in soft matter chemistry. It provides a highly dynamic work environment for the study of organized systems composed of surfactants, polymers, biomolecules, or nanoparticles.

The doctoral contract is funded by the ANR NoVELX project, which brings together researchers from Strasbourg, Bordeaux, and Toulouse, specializing in molecular chemistry, polymer chemistry, physical chemistry, and biology.