Studies of phosphatidylcholine vesicles by spectroturbidimetric and dynamic light scattering methods

A spectroturbidimetric method for the determination of the average size and thickness of the shell in polydisperse suspensions of liposome particles is discussed. The method is based on measuring the wavelength exponent of a suspension (a slope of the logarithmic turbidity spectrum) and the specific turbidity (the turbidity per unit mass concentration of the dispersed substance). The inverse problem was solved using an exact calculation of characteristics of light scattering for polydisperse suspensions of spherical bilayer particles with allowance for the spectral dependence of optical constants. A practical realization of this method is illustrated by the experimental determinations of the structural parameters of liposomes prepared from egg lecithin. Comparison experiments to determine the liposome size by the dynamic (quasielastic) light scattering method were performed as an independent control. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.