This book will describe fundamentals and recent developments in the area of Self-Assembled Supramolecular Architecture and their relevance to the  understanding of the functionality of  membranes  as delivery systems for active ingredients. As the heirarchial architectures determine their performance capabilities, attention will be paid to theoretical and design aspects related to the construction of lyotropic liquid crystals: mesophases such as lamellar, hexagonal, cubic, sponge phase micellosomes. The book will bring to the reader mechanistic aspects, compositional considerations, transition within phases, solubilization capacities, drug entrapment and release mechanisms and transmembrane, transdermal, and other transport phenomena. It will stress the importance of these mesostructures to crystallization and polymorphism of drugs, fats, and nutraceuticals and will discuss regioselectivity of organic and enzymatic reactions that take place at interfaces and within the channels of the mesophase. The book will bring studies on the use of these mesophase as crystallization or particulation media for the formation of nanoparticles and nanocrystals. Chapters will discuss applications in the areas of pharmaceuticals, food, cosmetics, plastics, paper, agro-chemistry and industrial applications.

NISSIM GARTI, PhD, is the Ratner Honor Chair of Chemistry, member of the management committee of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the head of the Formulation Center of the Department of Chemistry, and advisor to several global companies. He established Adumim Chemicals' Nutraceutical Systems (Nutralease) and Delivery Lyotropic Systems (DLS).

PONISSERIL SOMASUNDARAN, is the Director of the Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Advanced Studies in Novel Surfactants at Columbia University. His research examines surface and colloid chemistry of minerals, materials and microbes, molecular interactions at surfaces, and environmental engineering.

RAFFAELE MEZZENGA is Full Professor at ETH Zürich. His research focuses on self-assembly processes in liquid crystalline polymers, supramolecular polymers, lyotropic liquid crystals, and biological and food colloidal systems. He is a recipient of several international awards in the field of soft condensed matter, including the John H. Dillon Medal of the American Physical Society.