TY - JOUR
T1 - Lipid vesicles in pulsed electric fields
T2 - Fundamental principles of the membrane response and its biomedical applications
AU - Perrier, Dayinta L.
AU - Rems, Lea
AU - Boukany, Pouyan E.
N1 - Accepted Author Manuscript
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - The present review focuses on the effects of pulsed electric fields on lipid vesicles ranging from giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) to small unilamellar vesicles (SUVs), from both fundamental and applicative perspectives. Lipid vesicles are the most popular model membrane systems for studying biophysical and biological processes in living cells. Furthermore, as vesicles are made from biocompatible and biodegradable materials, they provide a strategy to create safe and functionalized drug delivery systems in health-care applications. Exposure of lipid vesicles to pulsed electric fields is a common physical method to transiently increase the permeability of the lipid membrane. This method, termed electroporation, has shown many advantages for delivering exogenous molecules including drugs and genetic material into vesicles and living cells. In addition, electroporation can be applied to induce fusion between vesicles and/or cells. First, we discuss in detail how research on cell-size GUVs as model cell systems has provided novel insight into the basic mechanisms of cell electroporation and associated phenomena. Afterwards, we continue with a thorough overview how electroporation and electrofusion have been used as versatile methods to manipulate vesicles of all sizes in different biomedical applications. We conclude by summarizing the open questions in the field of electroporation and possible future directions for vesicles in the biomedical field.
AB - The present review focuses on the effects of pulsed electric fields on lipid vesicles ranging from giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) to small unilamellar vesicles (SUVs), from both fundamental and applicative perspectives. Lipid vesicles are the most popular model membrane systems for studying biophysical and biological processes in living cells. Furthermore, as vesicles are made from biocompatible and biodegradable materials, they provide a strategy to create safe and functionalized drug delivery systems in health-care applications. Exposure of lipid vesicles to pulsed electric fields is a common physical method to transiently increase the permeability of the lipid membrane. This method, termed electroporation, has shown many advantages for delivering exogenous molecules including drugs and genetic material into vesicles and living cells. In addition, electroporation can be applied to induce fusion between vesicles and/or cells. First, we discuss in detail how research on cell-size GUVs as model cell systems has provided novel insight into the basic mechanisms of cell electroporation and associated phenomena. Afterwards, we continue with a thorough overview how electroporation and electrofusion have been used as versatile methods to manipulate vesicles of all sizes in different biomedical applications. We conclude by summarizing the open questions in the field of electroporation and possible future directions for vesicles in the biomedical field.
KW - Artificial cell
KW - Drug delivery vehicle
KW - Electrofusion
KW - Electroporation
KW - Lipid vesicle
KW - Microreactor
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85019036845&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.cis.2017.04.016
DO - 10.1016/j.cis.2017.04.016
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85019036845
SN - 0001-8686
VL - 249
SP - 248
EP - 271
JO - Advances in Colloid and Interface Science
JF - Advances in Colloid and Interface Science
ER -