Membrane Protrusion Coarsening and Nanotubulation within Giant Unilamellar Vesicles
Journal article, 2011

Hydrophobic side groups on a stimuli-responsive polymer, encapsulated within a single giant unilamellar vesicle, enable membrane attachment during compartment formation at elevated temperatures. We thermally modulated the vesicle through implementation of an IR laser via an optical fiber, enabling localized directed heating. Polymer-membrane interactions were monitored using confocal imaging techniques as subsequent membrane protrusions occurred and lipid nanotubes formed in response to the polymer hydrogel contraction. These nanotubes, bridging the vesicle membrane to the contracting hyclrogel, were retained on the surface of the polymer compartment, where they were transformed into smaller vesicles in a process reminiscent of cellular endocytosis. This development of a synthetic vesicle system containing a stimuli-responsive polymer could lead to a new platform for studying inter/intramembrane transport through lipid nanotubes.

microcompartmentation

liposomes

model

artificial cells

lipid vesicles

networks

encapsulation

transition

nanotubes

poly n-isopropylacrylamide

Author

Ilona Wegrzyn

Chalmers, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Physical Chemistry

Gavin Jeffries

Chalmers, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Physical Chemistry

B. Nagel

Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering (IBMT)

M. Katterle

Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering (IBMT)

S. R. Gerrard

University of Southampton

T. Brown

University of Southampton

Owe Orwar

Chalmers, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Physical Chemistry

Aldo Jesorka

Chalmers, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Physical Chemistry

Journal of the American Chemical Society

0002-7863 (ISSN) 1520-5126 (eISSN)

Vol. 133 45 18046-18049

Subject Categories

Chemical Sciences

DOI

10.1021/ja207536a

More information

Latest update

2/28/2018