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Self-assembled phases based on monoglyceridesare promising candidatesfor drug delivery systems. Alterations of these phases need to beperformed by addition of substances which are biocompatible. Inversebicontinuous cubic phases are altered by the addition of five aminoacids, namely, glycine, phenylalanine, alanine, glutamine, and tryptophan.These natural molecules have a diversity of side chains which predictstheir polarity and subsequently their interaction with the interfacialregion. Whereas polar amino acids cause a slight shrinking of thefully hydrated phase, amino acids with a nonpolar side chain expandit. Tryptophan is also able to provoke a growth of inverse hexagonal,micellar cubic, and micellar structures. Amino acid concentrationsin the aqueous phase, even above the amino acid’s solubility,further affect all aforementioned structures and cause a significantenlargement of up to 26%. Besides the amino acids’ impact onthe structural sizes, they also affect the phase transition temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]