Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41790940›Full record

ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2026

Mechanical performance of hybrid polymer-lipid vesicles with leaflet asymmetry engineered using microfluidics.

Yuting Huang, Arash Manafirad, Simon Matoori, Laura R Arriaga, Sijie Sun, Anqi Chen, Xin Yang, Anthony D Dinsmore, David J Mooney, David A Weitz

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Mechanical performance of hybrid polymer-lipid vesicles with leaflet asymmetry engineered using microfluidics.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Yuting HuangDepartment of Applied Physics, Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138.ORCID 0000-0003-3136-757X
Arash ManafiradDepartment of Physics, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003.ORCID 0000-0002-5438-7517
Simon MatooriDepartment of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada.
Laura R ArriagaDepartment of Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics, Condensed Matter Physics Center and Instituto Nicolás Cabrera, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid 28049, Spain.ORCID 0000-0002-3527-7953
Sijie SunDepartment of Applied Physics, Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138.ORCID 0000-0003-1489-5741
Anqi ChenDepartment of Applied Physics, Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138.
Xin YangDepartment of Grain and Food Science, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506.ORCID 0000-0003-1304-7492
Anthony D DinsmoreDepartment of Physics, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003.ORCID 0000-0002-0677-765X
David J MooneyDepartment of Bioengineering, Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115.ORCID 0000-0001-6299-1194
David A WeitzDepartment of Applied Physics, Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138.ORCID 0000-0001-6678-5208

Funding

DOD | USA | AFC | CCDC | Army Research Office (ARO) W911NF-15-1-0568Harvard | Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, Harvard University (MRSEC) DMR-2011754
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Lipid vesicles consist of aqueous cores surrounded by a bilayer of phospholipids. Hybrid polymer-lipid vesicles incorporate both polymers and lipids, offering promising properties for developing pharmaceuticals, biosensors, and artificial cells. The hybrid vesicles can be symmetric, with two leaflets of identical compositions, or asymmetric, in with leaflets of dissimilar compositions, which can lead to dramatically altered properties. However, existing methods for producing symmetric and asymmetric hybrid vesicles often result in heterogenous compositions and sizes, making it challenging to quantify the effect of asymmetry and limiting applications. Here, we use a microfluidic approach to produce hybrid vesicles with either symmetric or asymmetric leaflets and precisely engineered compositions. We find that the vesicles with asymmetric leaflets are significantly stiffer and tougher than those with symmetric leaflets; moreover, the lateral diffusivity of lipids is greatly decreased. The structure for improved toughness consists of a stretchable lipid inner leaflet and a fully continuous polymer outer leaflet. This approach to precisely engineer asymmetric structures can be applied to hybrid vesicles composed of block copolymers and phospholipids soluble in chloroform and hexane, further expanding their applications.

Indexed as

Lipid BilayersLipidsMicrofluidicsPolymersPhospholipidsLipid BilayersLipidsPhospholipidsPolymersmicrofluidicspolymer/lipidvesicles

Identifiers

PMID41790940
PMCPMC12974434

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.