Membrane lipid composition and cellular function.

Microviscosity parameters and protein mobility in biological membranes.

New aspects of liposomes.

Publisher Summary Lipid vesicles have been used extensively over the past 10 years as model membranes from which to obtain information on the physicochemical organization of lipid bilayers and to study the interaction of various membrane-active drugs with lipids. More recently, experiments in several laboratories have shown that mammalian cells in vitro and in vivo will incorporate large numbers of lipid vesicles without cytotoxic effects. Since a wide variety of materials can be entrapped inside vesicles and various glycoproteins and glycolipids can be inserted into the vesicle membrane, cellular uptake of vesicles of defined composition offers a potential method for modifying cellular composition and for introducing nonpermeable biologically active materials into cells. This chapter discusses current methods for the production of different types of lipid vesicles and discusses the mechanism by which vesicles are incorporated into cells. Recent work on the use of lipid vesicles as “carriers” to introduce biologically active materials into cells in vitro and in vivo is also reviewed, and a brief outline is presented on the feasibility of developing methods in which vesicles could be targeted to specific parts of the cell and to particular cell types.

Lipid vesicles as carriers for introducing biologically active materials into cells.

Correlation between the order parameter and the steady-state fluorescence anisotropy of 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene and an evaluation of membrane fluidity

J.C.E. Alderson

Papers

Enrichment of lymphocytes with cholesterol and its effect on lymphocyte activation.