Formation of Giant Unilamellar Vesicles Assisted by Fluorinated Nanoparticles

In the quest to produce artificial cells, one key challenge that remains to be solved is the recreation of a complex cellular membrane. Among the existing models, giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) are particularly interesting due to their intrinsic compartmentalisation ability and their resemblance in size and shape to eukaryotic cells. Many techniques have been developed to produce GUVs all having inherent advantages and disadvantages. Here, the authors show that fluorinated silica nanoparticles (FNPs) used to form Pickering emulsions in a fluorinated oil can destabilise lipid nanosystems to template the formation of GUVs. This technique enables GUV production across a broad spectrum of buffer conditions, while preventing the leakage of the encapsulated components into the oil phase. Furthermore, a simple centrifugation process is sufficient for the release of the emulsion-trapped GUVs, bypassing the need to use emulsion-destabilising chemicals. With fluorescent FNPs and transmission electron microscopy, the authors confirm that FNPs are efficiently removed, producing contaminant-free GUVs. Further experiments assessing the lateral diffusion of lipids and unilamellarity of the GUVs demonstrate that they are comparable to GUVs produced via electroformation. Finally, the ability of incorporating transmembrane proteins is demonstrated, highlighting the potential of this method for the production of GUVs for artificial cell applications. A novel method for the production of giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) is presented. Here, partially fluorinated silica nanoparticles are utilized for the stabilization of a lipid-containing aqueous droplet in a fluorinated oil. The encapsulated lipids assemble at the droplet interface forming a GUV, which can be released in an outer aqueous medium by centrifugation. image

Automated summary

This study presents a novel method for the production of giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs). Fluorinated silica nanoparticles (FNPs) are used to stabilize a lipid-containing aqueous droplet in a fluorinated oil, allowing the formation of GUVs. The encapsulated lipids can be released in an outer aqueous medium by a simple centrifugation process. The study demonstrates that this technique can produce contaminant-free GUVs comparable to those produced via electroformation, and it also shows the potential for incorporating transmembrane proteins.