Unilamellar vesicles

Unilamellar vesicles are spherical chambers bounded by a single bilayer composed of amphiphilic lipids that contain liquid inside (Figure 1). Depending on the diameter, there are different types of vesicles:

Small unilamellar vesicles (SUV): diameter range is 15-100 nm.
Large unilamellar vesicles (LUV): diameter range is 100 nm-1 µm.
Giant unilamellar vesicles (GUV): diameter range is 1-100 µm.

Due to their conformation, unilamellar vesicles have become a widely used model of membrane systems with several applications, such as the study of membrane integrity and transmembrane proteins, or drug delivery research.

Schematic representation of unilamellar vesicle consists of big, yellow sphere, representing vesicle content, surrounded by many, tiny, blue spheres with double tails, sticking out of the sphere, and second layer of those blue spheres with tails, which align opposite to the first layer, creating lipid bilayer.

Figure 1. Unilamellar vesicle schematic diagram.