Electroformed Giant Vesicles from a Binary Mixture of Phospholipids and Quaternary Ammonium Salts

Abstract

In this article, positively charged GVs were electroformed in a binary system of quaternary ammonium salts and egg phosphatidylcholine (EggPC) under an alternative current (AC) electric field. The diameter and charge density of the GVs is controlled by doping suitable cationic quaternary ammonium molecules into the EggPC bilayer. By developing positively charged GVs, there will be expanded the applications for phospholipids vesicles, especially the investigation of charge-induced interactions between cationic lipid membranes and macromolecules, such as colloidal particles or proteins.