Vesicles internal organization

FIG. 1 Geometries of electrolyte interfaces, (a) A planar electrode immersed in a solution with ions, and with the ion distrihution in the double layer, (b) Particles with permanent charges or adsorbed surface charges, (c) A porous electrode or membrane with internal structures, (d) A polyelectrolyte with flexible and dynamic structure in solution, (e) Organized amphophilic molecules, e.g., Langmuir-Blodgett film and microemulsion, (f) Organized polyelectrolytes with internal structures, e.g., membranes and vesicles. 

Single internal cytoplasm Periplasm as second compartment As for prokaryote plus internal vesicles and organelles As for unicellular eukaryote plus cell/cell differentiation Organs and extracellular body space Animals with a nervous system senses and a brain able to search external space... 

Multi-cellular organisms Plants and animals As above Chemical hormones in vesicle stores As above Extra cytoplasmic organic chemical gradients (internal vesicle stores) Sound and light external... 

Defining inside from outside is a fundamental trait of living organisms. The creation of noimamral strucmres that can define in from out with nonpermeable or semipermeable barriers offers the potential of protecting the internal content from destmction, contamination, and unwanted dispersal until the content is dehvered to a defined location. Small spherical structures that define in and out are well known and come in forms ranging from microcapsules to vesicles to micelles. We refer to these structures collectively as polymeric capsules. 

Endowing these polymolecular entities with recognition units and reactive functional groups may lead to systems performing molecular recognition or supramolecular catalysis on external or internal surfaces of organic (molecular layers, membranes, vesicles, polymers, etc.) [7.1-7.13, A.41] or inorganic (zeolites, clays, sol-gel preparations, etc.) [7.14-7.20] materials. 

Organic-soluble lanthanide chelates have been used to probe lipophillic systems. The compound 4-(4-dipentylamino-( )- S-styryl)-l-(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl)pyridinium perchlorate (22) was employed as a probe in dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine vesicles. Probe molecules assembled in the inner and outer shells of the vesicle as evidenced by the presence of two signals in the NMR spectrum (376 MHz). Even though addition of Eu(fod)3 promoted vesicle fusion, only one of the signals shifted. The shifted signal was likely from the probe molecule on the outer shell, as the internal P signal of the phospholipid did not shift in the presence of Eu(fod)3 ". 

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