Near Infrared Laser-Induced Content Release from Magnetic Bead-Encapsulated Giant Unilamellar Vesicles

The spatiotemporal control of content release from liposomes is crucial for the development of drug delivery systems (DDS). In this study, we established a system to induce content release from giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) encapsulating magnetic beads by irradiating them with a 1480 nm near-infrared laser. This approach utilizes local photothermal conversion to destabilize the membrane physically. The resulting content release process was directly visualized using fluorescence microscopy, demonstrating the utility of this method for analyzing the dynamics of membrane deformation and fissure formation.