On‐chip generation of monodisperse giant unilamellar lipid vesicles containing quantum dots

Abstract

Monodispersed lipid vesicles have been used as a drug delivery vehicle and a biochemical reactor. To generate monodispersed lipid vesicles in the nano- to micrometer size range, an extrusion step should be included in conventional hand-shaking method of lipid vesicle synthesis. In addition, lipid vesicles as a drug carrier still need to be improved to effectively encapsulate concentrated biomolecules such as cells, proteins, and target drugs. To overcome these limitations, this paper reports a new microfluidic platform for continuous synthesis of small-sized (∼10 μm) giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) containing quantum dots (QDs) as a nanosized model drug. To generate GUVs, we introduced an additional cross-flow to break vesicles into small size. 1,2 - dimyristoyl-sn-glycero - 3 - phosphocholine (DMPC) in an octanol-chloroform mixture was used in the construction of self-assembled membrane. Consequently, we have successfully demonstrated the fabrication of monodispersed GUVs with 7-12 μm diameter containing QDs. The proposed synthesis method of cell-sized GUVs would be highly desirable for applications such as multipurpose drug encapsulation and delivery.

Single-Vesicle Assays Using Liposomes and Cell-Derived Vesicles: From Modeling Complex Membrane Processes to Synthetic Biology and Biomedical Applications

“…The principle has been extended for the production of micrometer-sized GUVs in microfluidic chips. Most protocols are based on first producing at a microfluidics junction water droplets surrounded by a lipid-carrying oil film, which is then removed in an aqueous microfluidic stream to form homogeneous unilamellar vesicles with excellent encapsulation efficiency. − …”

<p>Review of the Application of Nanovesicles and the Human Interstitial Fluid in Gastrointestinal Premalignant Lesion Detection, Diagnosis, Prognosis and Therapy</p>

“…Ensuring a uniform size of therapeutic NVs during synthesis is also an area that has been studied. The cross-flow method was developed to ensure size consistency of NVs 91. In addition, NVs should be engineered to be of an adequate size, ideally around 400–800nm, to transport sufficient therapeutic drugs while also being small enough to move through the TIF and infiltrate the tumor.…”

Assembling Alkaline-Responsive Chitosan@Giant Liposomes through an Ultrasound-Integrated Microfluidic Approach

“…It is hard to control the size of GLs; there is low drug encapsulation efficiency, and the coating of chitosan is insufficient. ,− Moreover, these fabrication methods often leave impurities on the lipid membrane which may change GLs’ physical properties. Using the microfluidic method to generate GLs can improve encapsulation efficiency and precisely control the droplet size. − Due to the use of organic solvents in microfluidic methods, the selection and treatment of organic solvents are also the current focus. If volatile organic solvents (e.g., chloroform and toluene) are adopted, they may induce potential toxicity.…”

“…Recent research prefers the use of nonvolatile organic solvents (e.g., octanol, oleic acid, etc. ). ,− Octanol, as a nonvolatile organic solvent, was used to form the pocket and spontaneously split off from the giant liposome in order to shorten the removal time, but the pocket falls off too fast; it can influence the removal of organic solvent and allow the giant liposomes to be easily broken . In addition, the mixture of the pockets and the giant liposomes will affect the subsequent application of the liposomes .…”