Thesis

Lanthanide–lipid interactions have gained significant attention due to their importance in biophysical and technological applications, including magnetic resonance imaging, fluorescence-based cell labelling and drug delivery. This project aims to investigate the interactions between different lanthanide salts (LnX3, where X = Cl?, ClO4?, NO3?, etc.) and lipid aggregates, focusing on the precipitation and gelation phenomena that occur when their concentration exceeds a certain threshold. Understanding these phenomena is essential for studying self-assembly and phase behaviour in soft matter systems. By examining how lanthanide ions interact with lipid aggregates—particularly in the presence of different anions—this study seeks to elucidate their roles in inducing precipitation and gelation. To this end, a combination of spectroscopic, scattering, microscopy, and rheological techniques will be employed to characterize the molecular interactions in lanthanide–phospholipid systems. These investigations will provide insights into the structural and dynamic properties of such systems and support their application in both biophysical and technological contexts.