Preparation of asymmetric phospholipid vesicles for use as cell membrane models

Asymmetric Hybrid Polymer–Lipid Giant Vesicles as Cell Membrane Mimics

Lipid membrane asymmetry plays an important role in cell function and activity, being for instance a relevant signal of its integrity. The development of artificial asymmetric membranes thus represents a key challenge. In this context, an emulsion-centrifugation method is developed to prepare giant vesicles with an asymmetric membrane composed of an inner monolayer of poly(butadiene)-b-poly(eth...

Mechanisms of attack and defence at the cell surface: the use of phospholipid bilayers as models for cell membrane.

Electrical conductivity across phospholipid bilayers induced by various cytotoxic proteins has been used to analyse the damaging action of such proteins on cells; the protective effect of divalent cations and protons against such attack has also been investigated. The predominant effect of divalent cations and protons is to promote the closed state of membrane pores, i.e. to "gate" protein-indu...

Phospholipid flippases: building asymmetric membranes and transport vesicles.

Phospholipid flippases in the type IV P-type ATPase family (P4-ATPases) are essential components of the Golgi, plasma membrane and endosomal system that play critical roles in membrane biogenesis. These pumps flip phospholipid across the bilayer to create an asymmetric membrane structure with substrate phospholipids, such as phosphatidylserine and phosphatidylethanolamine, enriched within the c...

Glycopolymer vesicles with an asymmetric membrane.

Direct dissolution of glycosylated polybutadiene-poly(ethylene oxide) block copolymers can lead to the spontaneous formation of vesicles or membranes, which on the outside are coated with glucose and on the inside with poly(ethylene oxide).

Application of Genetic Programming as a Powerful Tool for Modeling of Cellulose Acetate Membrane Preparation