title: Ultrathin shell double emulsion templated giant unilamellar lipid vesicles with controlled microdomain formation.
abstract: A microfluidic approach is reported for the high-throughput, continuous production of giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) using water-in-oil-in-water double emulsion drops as templates. Importantly, these emulsion drops have ultrathin shells; this minimizes the amount of residual solvent that remains trapped within the GUV membrane, overcoming a major limitation of typical microfluidic approaches for GUV fabrication. This approach enables the formation of microdomains, characterized by different lipid compositions and structures within the GUV membranes. This work therefore demonstrates a straightforward and versatile approach to GUV fabrication with precise control over the GUV size, lipid composition and the formation of microdomains within the GUV membrane.
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.
authors.forename: Laura R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Arriaga
authors.forename: Sujit S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Datta
authors.forename: Shin-Hyun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Amstad
authors.forename: Thomas E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Kodger
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Monroy
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Weitz
keywords: giant unilamellar vesicles; lipid membrane; lipid microdomains; lipid vesicles; microfluidics