Factors such as biocompatibility and toxicity are amongst several aspects to consider when designing a new drug delivery vehicle. Historically, polymers have been strong contenders in the field. However, achieving a narrow polydispersity and reducing batch to batch variability in synthesis is a cumbersome task. Therefore researchers have expanded the field to other colloidal carriers (i.e. lipids). Lipids offer a tighter control over molecular architecture while maintaining biocompatibility and low toxicity. Our aim for this project has been to design a lipid-derived drug delivery vehicle for which the rate of release of the drug correlates directly with the molecular weight. With that framework in mind, a new series of biomolecule-derived symmetrical lipids were synthesized from dihydroxyacetone (a glycolytic intermediate) and fatty acids of varying chain length (Figure 1). A modified solvent-emulsification technique was used to fabricate microparticles from each lipid. The resulting particles were physically characterized in terms of charge, size, morphology, encapsulation efficiency and in vitro controlled release of a model hydrophobic drug. SEM images showed that particles display a distinct surface morphology depending on lipid chain length, with morphology transitions from smooth to porous structures with increasing chain length (Figure 2). A hydrophobic model drug was incorporated into the microparticles to determine encapsulation efficiency and in vitro release kinetics. Release kinetics showed increasing release kinetics with increasing chain length. These results outline the initial characterization of dihydroxyacetone-based symmetrical lipids as new materials for controlled drug delivery.