Nanoparticte Formation in Giant Vesicles: Synthesis in Biomimetic Compartments

Two successful biomimetic approaches for nanoparticle synthesis in giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs)containing CdCl2 and Na2S, which represent membrane-bound compartments, were studied. The vesicles were prepared from the conventional lipid lecithin. To be able to distinguish them according to their content, two fluorescent lipids with different emission wavelengths were used in the preparation, one for vesicles containing Na 2S and another for vesicles loaded with CdCl2. According to our electrofusion protocol, after completing the electroformation process, the vesicles are detached from the substrate and placed in A- and B-free isotonic solution. The results suggest that the possible mechanism of cell-based nanoparticle synthesis, whether intra- or extracellular, may not necessarily be only peptide- or protein-driven or regulated. Electrofusion between A- and B-loaded vesicles was found to proceed smoothly at lower reagent concentrations.