Cell-sized GUV picture adapted from Ho et al. (2016), double emulsion production with oleic acid by Teh, Shia-Yen, et al. (2011)
Giant unilamellar vesicle (GUV) production pack
Bottom-up approach for bigger than 1 µm biomimetic structures
Produce giant unilamellar vesicles with custom sequences
Better control than electroformation or other GUV synthesising methods
GUVs production pack setup
The production of giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) is a trending topic for researchers who create artificial cells and study the origin of life or manufacture synthetic building blocks for prospective applications like diagnostics or drug delivery.
Microfluidics allows better reproducibility, monodispersity, vesicle size control, encapsulation efficiency, and membrane homogeneity, making it the most efficient method to create GUVs compared to bulk techniques.
This Pack comprises an OB1 flow controller (Elveflow) that controls three channels through flow sensors. One channel has the inner aqueous solution, the other the oil/lipid-based solution, and the third the outer aqueous solution and the solutions meet at the junctions of the double emulsions chip, which can be homemade or commercial, such as the microfluidic ChipShop fluidic 1032.
This pack can be customized to fit any double emulsion application; contact us for personalized advice and expertise.
The GUVs production pack contains:
- OB1 flow controller (Elveflow)
- 3 Microfluidic flow sensors (eg. Galileo)
- Fittings, tubings & luers
- Reservoirs
- Software (Galileo user interface)
- User guides for instruments
- Can contain the fluidic 1032 microfluidic chip from microfluidic chipshop if needed
Compatibility of the pack
Applications
GUVs produced by this pack can be used for:
- Membrane-protein interaction assays
- Drug delivery studies
- Artificial cell-like systems
- Encapsulation assays
- Membrane deformation studies
- and much more!
Analysis
Depending on your application, your results can be gathered by:
- Bright-field microscopy
- Fluorescent microscopy (if stained accordingly)
- Secretion assays
- and more!
Customize your pack
Our Packs can be modified depending on your specific needs. For example, this pack can include a sequential injection function to change the composition of the membrane easily during giant unilamellar vesicle production. Our microfluidic specialists will help you choose the best instruments and accessories depending on your needs and will accompany you during the setup of the microfluidic platform.
– Check our other Packs for various applications –
Funding and Support
The ACDC and Protomet projects results helped develop this giant unilamellar vesicle production pack, with funding from
the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 824060 (ACDC)
and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 MSCA-ITN under grant agreement No. 813873 (ProtoMet).
