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Updated: Jan 26, 2026

Rapid Encapsulation of Reconstituted Cytoskeleton Inside Giant Unilamellar Vesicles
Published on: November 10, 2021
Facile and Rapid Formation of Giant Vesicles from Glass Beads
Radu Tanasescu1, Ute Mettal2, Adai Colom3,4
1Department of Chemistry, University of Fribourg, Chemin du Musée 9, 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland. radu.tanasescu@unifr.ch.
Abstract:
Giant vesicles (GVs) are widely-used model systems for biological membranes. The formulation of these vesicles, however, can be problematic and artifacts, such as degraded molecules or left-over oil, may be present in the final liposomes. The rapid formulation of a high number of artifact-free vesicles of uniform size using standard laboratory equipment is, therefore, highly desirable. Here, the gentle hydration method of glass bead-supported thin lipid films has been enhanced by adding a vortexing step. This led to the formulation of a uniform population of giant vesicles. Batches of glass beads coated with different lipids can be combined to produce vesicles of hybrid lipid compositions. This method represents a stable approach to rapidly generate giant vesicles.
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