Hydration driven transport of deformable lipid vesicles
through fine pores and the skin barrier.
G. Cevc, D. Gebauer
Biophys. J. 84: 1010-1024 (2003).
We studied aggregate transport through semi-permeable,
nano-porous barriers experimentally and theoretically.
By measuring and modelling the effect of hydration
gradient across such barriers, spontaneous transbarrier
transport of suitable lipid aggregates in vesicular
form was proven to be driven by partial aggregate
de/hydration at the application site. By generalizing
Onsager transport model we derived a set of equations
that rationalize all pertinent observations.
Dehydration-induced vesicle motion starts with a
lag time. This corresponds to the time needed to
reach the limiting vesicle hydration; both are
proportional to the starting excess water volume and
decrease with increasing relative humidity at
application site. The rate of transbarrier transport
is insensitive to these parameters but increases with
vesicle deformability and volume exchange capability.
Both these properties depend on membrane composition.
Reversible demixing of bilayer components is the cause
of non-linear bilayer characteristics and also
potentially affects the effective membrane
hydrophilicity. High hydrophilicity of vesicle
surface and extreme aggregate shape adaptability
together are necessary for successful material transport
across the skin. This demonstrates the significance of
basic biophysical investigations for better
understanding of biological systems and for the
practical use of artificial, nature inspired carriers
in drug delivery.
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