| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1252088 | Chemistry and Physics of Lipids | 2011 | 8 Pages |
The use of giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) for investigating the properties of biomembranes is advantageous compared to the use of small-sized vesicles such as large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs). Experimental methods using GUVs, such as the single GUV method, would benefit if there was a methodology for obtaining a large population of similar-sized GUVs composed of oil-free membranes. We here describe a new membrane filtering method for purifying GUVs prepared by the natural swelling method and demonstrate that, following purification of GUVs composed of dioleoylphosphatidylglycerol (DOPG)/dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC) membranes suspended in a buffer, similar-sized GUVs with diameters of 10–30 μm are obtained. Moreover, this method enabled GUVs to be separated from water-soluble fluorescent probes and LUVs. These results suggest that the membrane filtering method can be applied to GUVs prepared by other methods to purify larger-sized GUVs from smaller GUVs, LUVs, and various water-soluble substances such as proteins and fluorescent probes. This method can also be used for concentration of dilute GUV suspensions.
► We developed a new membrane filtering method for purifying GUVs. ► Similar-sized DOPG/DOPC-GUVs with diameters of 10–30 μm were obtained using this membrane filtering method. ► This method enabled GUVs to be separated from water-soluble fluorescent probes and LUVs. ► This method can also be used for concentration of dilute GUV suspensions.
