This volume consists of 12 papers originally presented at the International Symposium on Lipid and Polymer—Lipid Systems, which was held in October 2000 in Chia Laguna, Italy. Amphiphilic systems comprise lipids and surfactants, as well as different types of polymers, including block and graft copolymers. Research on biological amphiphiles has often been conducted independently of research on synthetic ones. However, in recent years, a fruitful convergence of these two fields has evolved. These new perspectives on fundamental research and applications of lipids are discussed herein.

From the Preface: “Fundamental research on biological amphiphiles is undergoing a renaissance and many new research groups have entered the field in recent years. This renewed and increasing interest in lipid self-assembly, phase behavior and interfacial properties can be related to both a much improved insight in biological systems and the applications of lipids in food and pharmaceutical industry; in the latter, the development of drug delivery systems based on lipids has become in focus...”

Target Audience: Scientists, technologists and researchers in academia or industry who are concerned with lipid and polymer—lipid systems.

Table of Contents:

Physical Chemistry: The Loss of Certainty

Polymer—Surfactant Association as Seen by Fluorescence

Restricted Diffusion: An Effective Tool to Investigate Food Emulsions

The Alveolar Surface is Lined by a Coherent Liquid—Crystalline Phase

The Performance of Sterically Stabilized Liposomes — A Review

Acyl Migration and Hydrolysis in Monoolefin Based Systems

A NMR Self-Diffusion Study of the Porous Structure of Starch Granules

DNA—Lipid Systems: An Amphiphile Self-Assembly and Polymer—Surfactant Perspective

Supramolecular Structures Formed by Phospholipidnucleosides: Aggregational Properties and Molecular Recognition

From Bilayers to Micelles in a Dilute Surfactant System: A Phase with a Perforated Bilayer Network

Effect of a Bile Salt on the Aggregation Behavior of a Double-Chained Cationic Surfactant

Hydrolysis of Cubic Liquid Crystalline Phase of Glycerol Monooleate by Human Pancreatic Lipase

Index