Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 19, 2026
Single Liposome Measurements for the Study of Proton-Pumping Membrane Enzymes Using Electrochemistry and Fluorescent Microscopy
Published on: February 21, 2019
Pyrocatechol violet as a marker to characterize liposomal membrane permeability using the chelation and the
Yiguang Jin1, Miao Li, Xinpu Hou
1Department of Physical Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100083, PR China. jinyg73@hotmail.com
Abstract:
Pyrocatechol violet (PV), a chelating agent for cupric ions was used to characterize liposomal membrane permeability. After cupric ions were added to PV liposomes, free PV turned into its chelate (PV-Cu), and encapsulated PV kept stable since liposomal membranes prevented metal ions from permeating. After the light scattering background of liposomes and the absorbance of PV were eliminated by the first-order derivative spectrophotometric method, PV-Cu i.e. free PV in liposome suspensions could be determined without separation. The released PV from liposomes could also be determined. Because PV release is relevant to liposomal membrane permeability, PV becomes a marker to characterize the membrane permeability. This new method was simple, rapid, sensitive, and was used to measure the temperature-dependent liposomal membrane permeability in this paper. Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and soybean lecithin liposomes showed the peaks of release at 40 degrees C and 39 degrees C, respectively.
