Synthesis of giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) of charged and uncharged lipids at physiological salt concentration is presented using the starch hydrogel method as an example of the gel assisted synthesis method. The swelling of the gel is assisted by the presence of a high amount of amylopectin in starch and yields giant-sized vesicles, which are unilamellar in nature. This method holds promise since starch is a commonly available cheap bio-compatible material. This work indicates that native starch yields vesicles of better size range as compared to the acid-treated starch. It is demonstrated that contrary to the common belief, pre-hydration of bilayers is not critical to the success of this method. The synthesis of GUVs in physiological salt concentrations is possible since the salt does not produce any osmotic effect on its own. At low starch concentration, the size of the vesicles is found to correlate with the swelling factor. The conjugate effect of the starch concentration and ion leads to the change in the swelling factor of the gel and thereby influence the size and architecture of the vesicles. Also, interactions between starch and lipid play an important role in the formation of the giant vesicles.

中文翻译：

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淀粉辅助合成巨大的单层囊泡。

以淀粉水凝胶法为例，介绍了在生理盐浓度下带电荷和不带电荷脂质的巨型单层囊泡（GUV）的合成。淀粉中大量支链淀粉的存在有助于凝胶的溶胀，产生巨大的囊泡，其本质上是单层的。由于淀粉是通常可得的便宜的生物相容性材料，因此该方法有希望。这项工作表明，与酸处理过的淀粉相比，天然淀粉产生的小泡具有更好的尺寸范围。已经证明，与通常的看法相反，双层的预水合对于该方法的成功并不关键。在生理盐浓度下合成GUV是可能的，因为该盐本身不会产生任何渗透作用。在低淀粉浓度下，发现囊泡的大小与溶胀因子相关。淀粉浓度和离子的结合作用导致凝胶溶胀因子的变化，从而影响囊泡的大小和结构。而且，淀粉和脂质之间的相互作用在巨泡的形成中起重要作用。