Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 4, 2026

In Vitro Reconstitution of the Actin Cytoskeleton Inside Giant Unilamellar Vesicles
Published on: August 25, 2022
Highly stable vesicles composed of a new chain-terminus acetylenic photopolymeric phospholipid
1Naval Research Laboratory, Center for Bio/Molecular Science and Engineering, Code 6930, Naval Research Laboratory Overlook Avenue 4555, Washington, DC 20375, USA.
Abstract:
Stability, ease of production, and storage convenience were addressed for polymerized vesicles composed of 1,2-bis(trideca-12-ynoyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine. The following vesicle properties were investigated before and after polymerization: size, shape, lamellarity, dispersity, degree of polymerization, membrane fluidity, and structural stability. A fairly monodisperse, unilamellar sub-micron vesicle suspension undergoes nearly complete polymerization of the chain-terminus acetylenic to polyacetylenic conversion as monitored by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and thin layer chromatography provide additional evidence for extensive lipid polymerization. Using differential scanning calorimetry, a gel/liquid transition was not observed for either polymerized or non-polymerized vesicles within the temperature range of 5-65 degrees C. These polymerized vesicles remained structurally stable and suspended for months at room temperature. However, vesicle size did decrease with increasing degree of polymerization. Polymerized vesicles remained spherical but decreased in size by 15% when subjected to 52 wt.% aqueous ethanol and did not change significantly in size and dispersity after a freeze-dry/resuspend cycle.
Related Concept Videos
Synthesis of Phosphatidylcholine in the ER Membrane
The major components of all eukaryotic cell...
Phosphoinositides and PIPs
Different phosphoinositides are synthesized and recruited on the cytosolic face of the plasma membrane. The localization of specific phosphoinositides concentrated in separate membrane...
Membrane Lipids
Phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine, and sphingomyelin are the most common phospholipids present in mammalian membranes. At physiological pH, phosphatidylserine is negatively charged, while the other three...
Intralumenal Vesicles and Multivesicular Bodies
Lipids as Anchors
The carboxy-terminal of most of the prenylated proteins, such as Ras proteins, contains the...
Assembly of the Lipid Bilayer in the ER
A large chunk of any biological membrane is composed of phospholipids. These lipids have a heterogeneous distribution across different subcellular organelles and even between...
