Observation of inhomogeneity in the lipid composition of individual nanoscale liposomes

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Liposomes, or vesicles, have been studied extensively both as models of biological membranes and as drug delivery vehicles. Typically it is assumed that all liposomes within the same preparation are identical. Here by employing pairs of fluorescently labeled lipids we demonstrated an up to 10-fold variation in the relative lipid composition of individual liposomes with diameters between 50 nm and 15 µm. Since the physicochemical properties of liposomes are directly linked to their composition, a direct consequence of compositional inhomogeneities is a polydispersity in the properties of the individual liposomes in an ensemble.
Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of the American Chemical Society
Volume133
Issue number28
Pages (from-to)10685-10687
Number of pages3
ISSN0002-7863
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 20 Jul 2011

ID: 33898730