Design and applications of a fluorescent labeling technique for lipid and surfactant preformed vesicles

Amphiphilic molecules such as surfactants, lipids and block copolymers can be assembled into bilayers and form vesicles. Fluorescent membrane labeling methods require the use of dye molecules that can be inserted in the bilayers at different stages of the synthesis. To our knowledge there is no gene...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 2019-06
Main Authors: Mousseau, Fanny, Berret, Jean-François, Oikonomou, Evdokia K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Block copolymers
Cell membranes
Cotton
Dyes
Fluorescence
Infants
Labeling
Lipids
Nanoparticles
Respiratory therapy
Surfactants
Vesicles
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Amphiphilic molecules such as surfactants, lipids and block copolymers can be assembled into bilayers and form vesicles. Fluorescent membrane labeling methods require the use of dye molecules that can be inserted in the bilayers at different stages of the synthesis. To our knowledge there is no generalized method for labeling preformed vesicles. Herein we develop a versatile protocol that is suitable to both surfactant and lipid preformed vesicles and requires no separation or purification steps. Based on the lipophilic carbocyanine green dye PKH67, the methodology is assessed on zwitterionic phosphatidylcholine vesicles. To demonstrate its versatility, it is applied to dispersions of anionic or cationic vesicles, such as a drug administrated to premature infants with respiratory distress syndrome, or a vesicle formulation used as a fabric softener for homecare applications. By means of fluorescence microscopy we then visualize the interaction mechanisms of nanoparticles crossing live cell membranes and of surfactant adsorbing on cotton fabric. These results highlight the advantages of a membrane labeling technique that is simple and applicable to a large number of soft matter systems.
ISSN:2331-8422
DOI:10.48550/arxiv.1906.01744