Vesicles long-term stability

Several approaches to artificial photosynthesis involve the mimicking of membranes to effect charge separation. An easy extension of the micellar effects described above to systems amenable to study as photosynthetic models can be encountered in the charge separation derived on synthetic vesicles or membranes (275). Sonic dispersal of long chain ammonium halides, phosphates, sulfonate, or carboxylates produces prolate ellipsoidal vesicles with long term stabilities which can entrain and trap molecules in their compartments. With donor-acceptor photosystems, four physical arrangements about the vesicle are important, Fig. 6. 

Much of our chemical understanding of membrane structures has been obtained through the investigation of models, most of which are based solely on the reconstruction of the lipid bilayer part of biomembranes. In contrast to biomembranes, rebuilt bilayers such as lipid vesicles are not stable in the long term. Obviously, nature finds additional means for creating membranes of high stability ... 

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