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Updated: Jan 23, 2026

Using the Droplet Transfer Method to Reliably Prepare Giant Unilamellar Vesicles
Published on: September 19, 2025
Large-Scale Preparation of Giant Vesicles by Squeezing a Lipid-Coated Marshmallow-like Silicone Gel in a Buffer
Gen Hayase1, Shin-Ichiro M Nomura2
1Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences , Tohoku University , 6-3 Aramaki-aza Aoba, Aoba-ku , Sendai 980-8578 , Japan.
Abstract:
Giant vesicles were efficiently produced by squeezing a lipid (l-α-phosphatidylcholine from egg yolk)-coated marshmallow-like flexible macroporous silicone monolith in a buffer. The mean diameter of the obtained vesicles was 2 μm, showing a wide distribution, up to tens of micrometers, which was similar to that of vesicles formed by a natural swelling method. It was possible to prepare vesicle dispersions on a scale from several microliters to several hundred milliliters. A protein synthesis system (PURE system) contained in vesicles prepared using this method functioned effectively. Our absorbing-squeezing method is expected to help in studies that use giant vesicles such as artificial cells and drug delivery systems.
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