Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Asymmetric Lipid Bilayer01:35

Asymmetric Lipid Bilayer

9.4K
Biological membranes show uneven distribution of different types of lipids in the inner and outer layers, resulting in transverse asymmetric membranes. The treatment of the erythrocyte membrane with the enzyme phospholipase confirmed the asymmetric nature of the lipid bilayer. The enzyme hydrolyzes lipids into fatty acids and hydrophilic groups. The phospholipase acts only on the outer layer of the membrane, while the inner layer remains intact. The phospholipase treatment resulted in 80%...
9.4K
Membrane Lipids01:32

Membrane Lipids

33.4K
Lipids are an essential component of all biological membranes. The average lipid content in mammalian membranes is 50%, though it can be as low as 20% in the inner mitochondrial membrane or as high as 80% in the myelin sheath present around the nerve cells.
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...
33.4K
Membrane Fluidity01:26

Membrane Fluidity

14.2K
Membrane fluidity is explained by the fluid mosaic model of the cell membrane, which describes the plasma membrane structure as a mosaic of components—including phospholipids, cholesterol, proteins, and carbohydrates—that gives the membrane a fluid character.
Mosaic nature of the membrane
The mosaic characteristic of the membrane helps the plasma membrane remain fluid. The integral proteins and lipids exist as separate but loosely-attached molecules in the membrane. The membrane is...
14.2K
Membrane Fluidity01:23

Membrane Fluidity

171.4K
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.
171.4K
Mechanisms of Membrane Domain Formation00:59

Mechanisms of Membrane Domain Formation

3.7K
Different physical properties of lipids and proteins allow them to localize and form distinct islands or domains in the membrane. Some membrane domains are formed due to protein-protein interactions, whereas others are formed due to the presence of specific lipids such as sphingolipids and sterols—for example, large proteins, such as bacteriorhodopsin, aggregate and create distinct domains.
Another mechanism for membrane domain formation involves membrane proteins interacting with...
3.7K
Membrane Domains01:18

Membrane Domains

6.9K
The membrane domains concentrate specific lipids and proteins at one place within the membrane, which helps in cell signaling, adhesion, and other critical cellular processes. These domains can differ in size, composition, function, and lifespan.
Protein Domains
The membrane comprises a group of distinct proteins responsible for carrying out a cell's specific function. For example, the plasma membrane of the human sperm, or a single germ cell, contains a unique set of proteins in the...
6.9K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Silk-Inspired Design and Manufacturing of Robust Plantymers.

Nature communications·2026
Same author

Terminal Conjugation Enables Nanopore Sequencing of Peptides.

Journal of the American Chemical Society·2026
Same author

Microfluidic Approaches to Pickering Emulsions and Foams: Strategies, Challenges, and Promising Applications.

Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany)·2025
Same author

Building a Synthetic Cell Together.

Nature communications·2025
Same author

Elucidating the nanoscopic organization and dynamics of the nuclear pore complex.

Nucleus (Austin, Tex.)·2025
Same author

Regulating Biocondensates within Synthetic Cells via Segregative Phase Separation.

ACS nano·2025
Same journal

Engineered Young Brown Adipose Tissue-Derived Exosomes Alleviate Radiation-Induced Lung Injury by Promoting G Protein-Coupled Receptor 183 Ubiquitination.

ACS nano·2026
Same journal

Pore Geometry-Driven Capture of Trace Aromatic Volatile Organic Compounds in Al-Based MOFs.

ACS nano·2026
Same journal

Dual-Bridged Porphyrin-Based Covalent Organic Framework with Integrated Specific Fluorescent Recognition and Cooperative Adsorption Capabilities.

ACS nano·2026
Same journal

Split-Gate Memtransistors for Energy-Efficient Adaptive Reinforcement Learning.

ACS nano·2026
Same journal

Interface Coordination Nucleation of Copper Nanoclusters on Covalent Organic Frameworks for Electrocatalytic Ammonia Synthesis.

ACS nano·2026
Same journal

High-Performance Near-Infrared Quantum Emission from Color Centers in hBN.

ACS nano·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 25, 2025

On-Chip Octanol-Assisted Liposome Assembly for Bioengineering
09:45

On-Chip Octanol-Assisted Liposome Assembly for Bioengineering

Published on: March 17, 2023

3.3K

pH-Controlled Coacervate-Membrane Interactions within Liposomes.

Mart G F Last1, Siddharth Deshpande1,2, Cees Dekker1

  • 1Department of Bionanoscience, Kavli Institute of Nanoscience Delft, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, The Netherlands.

ACS Nano
|April 3, 2020
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers used microfluidics to control membraneless organelle formation in liposomes via pH changes. This pH-triggered coacervation allows studying interactions between organelles and membranes, aiding synthetic cell development.

Keywords:
coacervatesliposomesliquid−liquid phase separationmembranesmicrofluidics

More Related Videos

In Vitro Reconstitution of the Actin Cytoskeleton Inside Giant Unilamellar Vesicles
10:19

In Vitro Reconstitution of the Actin Cytoskeleton Inside Giant Unilamellar Vesicles

Published on: August 25, 2022

4.0K
Lipid Vesicle-mediated Affinity Chromatography using Magnetic Activated Cell Sorting LIMACS: a Novel Method to Analyze Protein-lipid Interaction
07:33

Lipid Vesicle-mediated Affinity Chromatography using Magnetic Activated Cell Sorting LIMACS: a Novel Method to Analyze Protein-lipid Interaction

Published on: April 26, 2011

12.8K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Dec 25, 2025

On-Chip Octanol-Assisted Liposome Assembly for Bioengineering
09:45

On-Chip Octanol-Assisted Liposome Assembly for Bioengineering

Published on: March 17, 2023

3.3K
In Vitro Reconstitution of the Actin Cytoskeleton Inside Giant Unilamellar Vesicles
10:19

In Vitro Reconstitution of the Actin Cytoskeleton Inside Giant Unilamellar Vesicles

Published on: August 25, 2022

4.0K
Lipid Vesicle-mediated Affinity Chromatography using Magnetic Activated Cell Sorting LIMACS: a Novel Method to Analyze Protein-lipid Interaction
07:33

Lipid Vesicle-mediated Affinity Chromatography using Magnetic Activated Cell Sorting LIMACS: a Novel Method to Analyze Protein-lipid Interaction

Published on: April 26, 2011

12.8K

Area of Science:

  • Cell biology
  • Biophysics
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Membraneless organelles regulate cellular functions through liquid-liquid phase separation.
  • Complex coacervation drives essential biological processes like cell division and chromatin organization.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop a method for controlling membraneless organelle formation within liposomes using pH.
  • To investigate the electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions between phase-separated coacervates and lipid membranes.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized an on-chip microfluidic system to encapsulate components within liposomes.
  • Manipulated transmembrane proton flux by altering external pH to induce coacervation.
  • Studied coacervate-membrane interactions using charged lipids and cholesterol-tagged RNA.

Main Results:

  • Achieved controlled coacervation of encapsulated components by stepwise pH changes.
  • Demonstrated that electrostatic interactions recruit coacervates to the membrane, restricting their mobility.
  • Showed that hydrophobic interactions with cholesterol-tagged RNA lead to membrane wetting and structural changes.

Conclusions:

  • pH-triggered coacervation in cell-sized liposomes offers a controllable method for studying membraneless organelle formation.
  • The findings provide insights into coacervate-membrane interactions relevant to cellular processes.
  • This technique has potential applications in synthetic cell research and bottom-up studies of phase separation.