Long-Term Stable Liposome Modified by PEG-Lipid in Natural Seawater.

This paper describes the stabilization of liposomes using a PEGylated lipid, -(methylpolyoxyethylene oxycarbonyl)-1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine sodium salt (DSPE-PEGs), and the evaluation of the survival rate in natural seawater for future environmental applications. Liposomes in natural seawater were first monitored by confocal microscopy, and the stability was compared among different lengths and the introduction ratio of DSPE-PEGs. The survival rate increased with an increase in the PEG ratio.

Lipid vesicle-based molecular robots.

A molecular robot, which is a system comprised of one or more molecular machines and computers, can execute sophisticated tasks in many fields that span from nanomedicine to green nanotechnology. The core parts of molecular robots are fairly consistent from system to system and always include (i) a body to encapsulate molecular machines, (ii) sensors to capture signals, (iii) computers to make decisions, and (iv) actuators to perform tasks. This review aims to provide an overview of approaches and considerations to develop molecular robots.

Liposome Deformation Induced by Membrane-Binding Peptides.

This paper presents an investigation of liposome deformation and shape distortion using four membrane-binding peptides: TAT and C105Y as cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs), and melittin and ovispirin as antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). Liposome deformation was monitored utilizing fluorescent microscopy, while the binding of peptides to the DOPC membrane was estimated through capacitance measurements. The degree of liposome deformation and shape distortion was found to be higher for the CPPs compared to the AMPs.

Electrophysiological Analysis of Antimicrobial Peptides in Diverse Species.

This study describes a technical platform that allows us to measure the pore-forming activity of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in the lipid bilayer and estimate antimicrobial activity. We selected six different AMPs of diverse species from urochordata to vertebrata and measured the channel current signals using a microfabricated lipid bilayer system. As a result of the electrophysiological measurements, we were able to estimate the pore-forming activity and roughly predict the antimicrobial activity although there was not a strong correlation between the pore-forming activity and the variety of species.