US Patent 7943168 - Nanoparticle delivery system with hydrophobic core

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7943168.html

This patent is from Washington University and teaches a nanoparticle composition which may be useful for cancer treatments and claims for the first time, the opportunity to effect cell barrier crossing in a selective manner without hemolysis of red blood cells or destruction of tissues whose existence is desirable. Claim 1 reads:

1. A composition comprising nanoparticles, which nanoparticles comprise a liquid hydrophobic core coating with a lipid/surfactant layer, wherein said lipid/surfactant layer contains at least one membrane-integrating peptide, which is a membrane-lytic peptide.