Block liposome and nanotube formation is a general phenomenon of two-component membranes containing multivalent lipids

Abstract

We report a study on the formation of block liposomes (BLs) and nanotubes from membranes comprising mixtures of membrane curvature-stabilizing multivalent cationic lipids MVL3(3+) and MVL5(5+) with neutral 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (DOPC). In conjunction with prior work on MVLBG2(16+), our experiments suggest that BL and nanotube formation is a general phenomenon in membranes containing multivalent lipids, thus enhancing the relevance of BLs for applications such as gene/drug storage and delivery or templating.