A Simple and Straightforward Approach for Generating Small, Stable, Homogeneous, Unilamellar 1-Palmitoyl 2-Oleoyl Phosphatidylcholine (POPC) Bilayer Vesicles

Yong-Guang Gao; Le Thi My Le; Amer Alam; Rhoderick E Brown

doi:10.21769/BioProtoc.4271

A Simple and Straightforward Approach for Generating Small, Stable, Homogeneous, Unilamellar 1-Palmitoyl 2-Oleoyl Phosphatidylcholine (POPC) Bilayer Vesicles

Bio Protoc. 2021 Dec 20;11(24):e4271. doi: 10.21769/BioProtoc.4271.

Authors

Yong-Guang Gao¹, Le Thi My Le¹, Amer Alam¹, Rhoderick E Brown¹

Affiliation

¹ Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota, Austin, MN, USA.

Abstract

Various methods have been developed to generate phosphoglyceride liposomes. Approaches resulting in homogeneous populations of unilamellar bilayer vesicles are generally preferred to mimic various cell membrane situations, as well as to optimize aqueous solute trapping efficiency using the least amount of lipid for biotechnological purposes. Most are time-consuming, often tedious, or require specialized equipment, and produce vesicles with limited shelf-life at room temperature or in cold storage. Herein, we describe a straightforward approach that avoids the preceding complications and streamlines the construction of unilamellar bilayer vesicles from 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl phosphatidylcholine (POPC)/dihexanoyl phosphatidylcholine (DHPC) bicelle mixtures at room temperature. The resulting vesicles are small (32-36 nm diameter), unilamellar, bilayer vesicles that are homogeneous, stable, and resistant to freeze-thaw alterations. Graphic abstract: Cryo-EM of POPC vesicles formed by dilution of 0.5 q-value POPC/DHPC bicelle mix.

Keywords: 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl phosphatidylcholine; Bicelle lipid mixtures; Dihexanoyl phosphatidylcholine; Dilution; Phospholipid unilamellar bilayer vesicle production; Spontaneous formation.