Formation mechanism of giant phospholipid vesicles under natural swelling Mafumi Hishida Yoshida-honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan.

Giant phospholipid vesicles are actively used as model cell systems since their size and lamellarity are comparable to those of a real cell membrane. The most popular method for generating the giant phospholipid vesicles is the natural swelling method. Although this method has been successfully applied, the mechanism behind the formation of giant vesicles has not been fully understood. In the present paper, our results on the physico-chemical formation mechanism of giant vesicles under the natural swelling method are reviewed. We focused on two essential points in the formation process: the morphologies of the phospholipid dry film and the mechanism of its development, and the hydration process of the phospholipid film to form giant vesicles. From the results, the processes of the natural swelling of lipid films are shown for lipids in both the liquid-crystalline and gel phases. The results indicate that the terrace-like morphology of lipid dry films and the undulation motion of the lipid membrane during hydration are essential for the formation of giant vesicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]