Lamellar phospholipid stacks on cellulose paper vesiculate to form cell-like giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) in aqueous solutions. The sizes and yields of the GUVs that result and their relationship to the properties of the cellulose fibers are unknown. Here we compare the characteristics of GUVs produced on four different cellulose substrates, three disordered porous media consisting of randomly entangled cellulose fibers (high purity cellulose filter papers of different effective porosities) and an ordered network of weaved cellulose fibers (cotton fabric). Large numbers of GUVs formed on all four substrates. Our result demonstrates for the first time that GUVs form on cotton fabric. Despite the differences in the configuration of the cellulose fibers, all four substrates yielded populations of GUVs with similar size distributions with a single well-defined peak and a right-tail. Cotton fabric produced the highest yield of GUVs with the lowest sample-to-sample variation. Moreover, cotton fabric is reusable, thus providing an environmentally-friendly route to scaling up production of GUVs.

Sizes and yields of giant unilamellar vesicles using cellulose paper and cotton fabric

2019 Spring National Meeting

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