Preparation of large monodisperse vesicles.

Abstract

Preparation of monodisperse vesicles is important both for research purposes and for practical applications. While the extrusion of vesicles through small pores (approximately 100 nm in diameter) results in relatively uniform populations of vesicles, extrusion to larger sizes results in very heterogeneous populations of vesicles. Here we report a simple method for preparing large monodisperse multilamellar vesicles through a combination of extrusion and large-pore dialysis. For example, extrusion of polydisperse vesicles through 5-microm-diameter pores eliminates vesicles larger than 5 microm in diameter. Dialysis of extruded vesicles against 3-microm-pore-size polycarbonate membranes eliminates vesicles smaller than 3 microm in diameter, leaving behind a population of monodisperse vesicles with a mean diameter of approximately 4 microm. The simplicity of this method makes it an effective tool for laboratory vesicle preparation with potential applications in preparing large monodisperse liposomes for drug delivery.