title: Production of Isolated Giant Unilamellar Vesicles under High Salt Concentrations.
abstract: The cell membrane forms a dynamic and complex barrier between the living cell and its environment. However, itsin vivostudies are difficult because it consists of a high variety of lipids and proteins and is continuously reorganized by the cell. Therefore, membrane model systems with precisely controlled composition are used to investigate fundamental interactions of membrane components under well-defined conditions. Giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) offer a powerful model system for the cell membrane, but many previous studies have been performed in unphysiologically low ionic strength solutions which might lead to altered membrane properties, protein stability and lipid-protein interaction. In the present work, we give an overview of the existing methods for GUV production and present our efforts on forming single, free floating vesicles up to several tens of μm in diameter and at high yield in various buffer solutions with physiological ionic strength and pH.
authors.affiliation: Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-NurembergErlangen, Germany; Max Planck Institute for the Science of LightErlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Hannah
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Stein
authors.affiliation: Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-NurembergErlangen, Germany; Max Planck Institute for the Science of LightErlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Susann
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Spindler
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Navid
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bonakdar
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Chun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-NurembergErlangen, Germany; Max Planck Institute for the Science of LightErlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Vahid
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sandoghdar
keywords: double emulsion; electroformation; giant unilamellar vesicle; lipid membrane; microfluidic jetting; micropipette aspiration; model membrane system; swelling