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Membrane Fluidity

Membrane Fluidity

Cell membranes are composed of phospholipids, proteins, and carbohydrates loosely attached to one another through chemical interactions. Molecules are generally able to move about in the plane of the membrane, giving the membrane its flexible nature called fluidity. Two other features of the membrane contribute to membrane fluidity: the chemical structure of the phospholipids and the presence of cholesterol in the membrane.

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Phase Behavior of Charged Vesicles Under Symmetric and Asymmetric Solution Conditions Monitored with Fluorescence Microscopy

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Published on: October 24, 2017

A microfluidic diffusion chamber for reversible environmental changes around flaccid lipid vesicles.

Saša Vrhovec¹, Mojca Mally, Blaž Kavčič

¹Institute of Biophysics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Lipiceva 2, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia.

|October 29, 2011

Summary

Researchers created a novel microfluidic device to study soft lipid vesicles in changing chemical environments. This flow-free chamber allows controlled, reversible environmental changes for analyzing vesicle behavior.

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Phase Behavior of Charged Vesicles Under Symmetric and Asymmetric Solution Conditions Monitored with Fluorescence Microscopy

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Single-Molecule Diffusion and Assembly on Polymer-Crowded Lipid Membranes

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Published on: July 19, 2022

Area of Science:

Biophysics
Soft Matter Physics
Microfluidics

Background:

Flaccid lipid vesicles are experimentally challenging due to membrane instability in flow.
Controlled environmental changes are crucial for studying vesicle dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a microfluidic device for controlled analysis of flaccid giant lipid vesicles in dynamic chemical environments.
To enable reversible environmental changes around vesicles and membrane tethers.

Main Methods:

A microfluidic diffusion chamber combined with optical tweezers was designed.
Vesicles were loaded into a flow-free chamber for diffusion-driven environmental changes.
Dye diffusion was monitored to characterize chamber properties and solute exchange times.

Main Results:

The microfluidic chamber effectively minimizes hydrodynamic flow, creating a near flow-free environment.
Solute exchange within the chamber occurs via diffusion and takes minutes.
A 1D diffusion model accurately describes the experimental data.

Conclusions:

The developed microfluidic device provides a robust platform for studying flaccid lipid vesicles under controlled environmental conditions.
This method facilitates reversible chemical environment manipulation for vesicle and membrane tether analysis.
The device overcomes limitations of previous methods for studying soft membranes.