Growth and shape transformations of giant phospholipid vesicles upon interaction with an aqueous oleic acid suspension

TL;DR

This study investigates how giant phospholipid vesicles change shape when interacting with oleic acid suspensions, revealing complex shape transformations influenced by oleic acid concentration and proposing a bilayer-couple model explanation.

Contribution

It provides new insights into vesicle shape dynamics during interaction with oleic acid, highlighting the role of concentration and molecular processes in shape transformations.

Findings

Shape changes occur within tens of seconds after transfer.

Vesicles show reversible evagination and invagination in certain conditions.

Oleic acid concentration influences vesicle morphology changes.

Abstract

The interaction of two types of vesicle systems was investigated: micrometer-sized, giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) formed from 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) and submicrometer-sized, large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs) formed from oleic acid and oleate, both in a buffered aqueous solution (pH=8.8). Individual POPC GUVs were transferred with a micropipette into a suspension of oleic acid/oleate LUVs, and the shape changes of the GUVs were monitored using optical microscopy. The behavior of POPC GUVs upon transfer into a 0.8 mM suspension of oleic acid, in which oleic acid/oleate forms vesicular bilayer structures, was qualitatively different from the behavior upon transfer into a 0.3 mM suspension of oleic acid/oleate, in which oleic acid/oleate is predominantly present in the form of monomers and possibly non-vesicular aggregates. In both cases, changes in vesicle morphology were observed within tens of seconds after the transfer. Vesicle initially started to evaginate. In 60% of the cases of transfer into a 0.8 mM oleic acid suspension, the evagination process reversed and proceeded to the point where the membrane formed invaginations. In some of these cases, several consecutive transitions between invaginated and evaginated shapes were observed. In the remaining 40% of the cases of transfer into the 0.8 mM oleic acid uspension and in all cases of vesicle transfer into the 0.3 mM oleic acid suspension, no invaginations nor subsequent evaginations were observed. An interpretation of the observed vesicle shape transformation on the basis of the bilayer-couple model is proposed, which takes into account uptake of oleic acid/oleate molecules by the POPC vesicles, oleic acid flip-flop processes and transient pore formation.