Understanding the interaction of nanoparticles (NP) with ceramide lipids is important in developing strategies to overcome the formidable obstacle that is skin. This paper presents studies of interactions between N-isopropylacrylamide nanogels, crosslinked with 30% N,N'-methylenebisacrylamide, and model ceramide lipid monolayers at the air-water interface as a function of temperature. In the case of the mixed ceramide/cholesterol/behenic acid monolayer, the interaction of nanogels with the ceramide was strongly mediated by the fatty acids. This interaction between nanogels and monolayer components is dominated by hydrophobic-hydrophobic binding. The data show the important intermediary role of the fatty acid in facilitating transmembrane transport. For a pure ceramide lipid monolayer, the neutron reflectivity (NR), Brewster angle microscopy (BAM) and surface pressure results showed a lipid-nanogel complex formation and the subsequent depletion/solubilisation of the lipids from the interface when the area per molecule for the lipid was increased from 42 to 44 angstrom(2). (C) 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.