Experiments on liposome

• Main Author: Susanti.
• Other Authors: Chen Yan
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: DRNTU::Science::Medicine::Biomedical engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/40511
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Giant unilamellar liposomes, composed of a lipid bilayer and with the size similar to living cells, often serve as cell model in the research of biomedical science and bioengineering applications. In this project, the behaviors of giant liposomes under electric field are experimentally studied, with the emphasis of electrofusion phenomenon. The objectives of this project are to understand the mechanism of electrofusion of giant liposomes and to investigate the influence of experimental conditions. The giant liposomes used in this project are prepared by both gentle hydration and electroformation methods. The latter is proven to be more effective in producing giant liposomes with fewer defects. As for the study of giant liposomes under electric field, two types of fusion devices were fabricated and employed in the experiments. The simple device is fabricated by pasting two copper conductive strips on the glass slide, while the microfluidic device is fabricated by a series of photolithography fabrication technique. Theoretically the micro fluidic device should have a higher success rate as compared to simple device, but due to the malfunction of the equipment the electrofusion process was not able to achieve by using microfluidic device. All the experimental process is observed and recorded by the microscope system equipped with CCD Camera. The potential influencing factors, such as the types of waves, the intensity of electric field, will cause the liposomes to undergo shape deformation, electroporation, and sometimes bursting of liposomes. AC electric field is applied to align the liposomes in electric field direction while DC electric field is to generate electroporation and eventually lead to electrofusion. In order to obtain optimal results, adjustment of experimental parameters is required and repeatability of experiments can enhance the successful rate of electrofusion process.