Liposomes, Vesicles, and Cast Films Supramolecular Assembly Based on Lipid Bilayers

Liposomes, Vesicles, and Cast Films -Supramolecular Assembly Based on Lipid Bilayers 

The micelle structure described in the previous section is highly dynamic, with rapid exchanges occurring between free and assembled components. This behavior is quite different from the structural stability and component mobihty of a cell membrane. In order to mimic a cell membrane, we need more stable amphiphilic assemblies. The key to achieving a stable design is an appropriate design for the structure of the amphiphile. 

4 Molecular Self-Assembly - How to Build the Large Supermolecules 

Phospholipids exhibit an excellent abihty to form liposome structures and are common in naturally-occurring cell membranes. The reason that nature uses phospholipids in the cell membrane is partly based on evolution-related biosynthetic requirements. From a physicochemical point of view, an amphiphile can form a liposome-hke supramolecular assembly as long as the amphiphile satisfies various structural requirements. Indeed, it has been found that a much simpler molecule - an ammonium salt with two long alkyl tails - can also form liposome-like assembhes. Therefore, structures simi- 

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Liposomes, Vesicles and Cast Films - Supramolecular Assemblies Based on Lipid Bilayers Amphiphilic molecules or lipid molecules sometimes form double-layer structures. This structure is called a bilayer structure, and it can be used to model a cell membrane. 

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