On the experimental setup for liposome electroformation

Abstract

The cell membrane is a dynamic and complex barrier which separates the living cell from its environment. It consists of a high variety of lipids and proteins and is continuously reorganized by the cell, making its in vivo study difficult. Thus one has to use membrane model systems with precisely controlled composition to investigate fundamental interactions of membrane components under well-defined conditions. Giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) are well-known model systems, especially because they are easily observable using optical microscopy. In the present article we describe in details the experimental setup, applied techniques and some preliminary results in the process of electroformation of giant unilamellar phospholipid vesicles (liposomes). As a base of our studies we used the protocol reported by Pereno et al [1].