Droplet-Shooting and Size-Filtration (DSSF) Method for Synthesis of Cell-Sized Liposomes with Controlled Lipid Compositions.

Abstract

We report a centrifugal microfluidic method, droplet-shooting and size-filtration (DSSF), for the production of cell-sized liposomes with controlled lipid compositions. This involves the generation of large and small droplets from the tip of a glass capillary and the selective transfer of small droplets through an oil-water interface, thus resulting in the generation of cell-sized liposomes. We demonstrate control of the microdomain formation as well as the formation of asymmetric lipid bilayer liposomes of uniform size by the control of lipid composition. The DSSF method involves simple microfluidics and is easy to use. In addition, only a small volume (0.5-2 μL) of sample solution is required for the formation of hundreds of cell-sized liposomes. We believe that this method can be applied to generate cell-sized liposomes for a wide variety of uses, such as the construction of artificial cell-like systems.