Dielectric properties and lamellarity of single liposomes measured by in-liquid scanning dielectric microscopy

Liposomes are widely used as drug delivery carriers and as cell model systems. Here, we measure the dielectric properties of individual liposomes adsorbed on a metal electrode by in-liquid scanning dielectric microscopy in force detection mode. From the measurements the lamellarity of the liposomes,...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Di Muzio, Martina, Millán Solsona, Rubén, Dols-Pérez, Aurora, Borrell Hernández, Jordi, Fumagalli, Laura, 1959-, Gomila Lluch, Gabriel
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de la UB
OAI Identifier:oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/178246
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/178246
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Liposomes
Nanotecnologia
Membranes (Biologia)
Microscòpia electrònica d'escombratge
Nanotechnology
Membranes (Biology)
Scanning electron microscopy
Descripción
Sumario:Liposomes are widely used as drug delivery carriers and as cell model systems. Here, we measure the dielectric properties of individual liposomes adsorbed on a metal electrode by in-liquid scanning dielectric microscopy in force detection mode. From the measurements the lamellarity of the liposomes, the separation between the lamellae and the specifc capacitance of the lipid bilayer can be obtained. As application we considered the case of non-extruded DOPC liposomes with radii in the range ~100-800 nm. Uni-, bi- and tri-lamellar liposomes have been identifed, with the largest population corresponding to bi-lamellar liposomes. The interlamellar separation in the bi-lamellar liposomes is found to be below ~10 nm in most instances. The specifc capacitance of the DOPC lipid bilayer is found to be ~0.75 µF/cm2 in excellent agreement with the value determined on solid supported planar lipid bilayers. The lamellarity of the DOPC liposomes shows the usual correlation with the liposome's size. No correlation is found, instead, with the shape of the adsorbed liposomes. The proposed approach ofers a powerful label-free and non invasive method to determine the lamellarity and dielectric properties of single liposome