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 (~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-µm-diameter pores eliminates vesicles larger than 5 µm in diameter. Dialysis of extruded vesicles against 3-µm-pore-size polycarbonate membranes eliminates vesicles smaller than 3 µm in diameter, leaving behind a population of monodisperse vesicles with a mean diameter of ~4 µm. 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.