Stability of phospholipid vesicles studied by asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation and capillary electrophoresis Original Research Article

The stability of zwitterionic phosphatidylcholine vesicles in the presence of 20 mol% phosphatidyl serine (PS), phosphatidic acid (PA), phosphatidyl inositol (PI), and diacylphosphatidyl glycerol (PG) phospholipid vesicles, and cholesterol or calcium chloride was investigated by asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation (AsFlFFF). Large unilamellar vesicles (LUV, diameter 100 nm) prepared by extrusion at 25 °C were used. Phospholipid vesicles (liposomes) were stored at +4 and −18 °C over an extended period of time. Extruded egg yolk phosphatidylcholine (EPC) particle diameters at peak maximum and mean measured by AsFlFFF were 101 ± 3 nm and 122 ± 5 nm, respectively. No significant change in diameter was observed after storage at +4 °C for about 5 months. When the storage period was extended to about 8 months (250 days) larger destabilized aggregates were formed (172 and 215 nm at peak maximum and mean diameters, respectively). When EPC was stored at −18 °C, large particles with diameters of 700–800 nm were formed as a result of dehydration, aggregation, and fusion processes. In the presence of calcium chloride, EPC alone did not form large aggregates. Addition of 20 mol% of negatively charged phospholipids (PS, PA, PI, or PG) to 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (POPC) vesicles increased the electrostatic interactions between calcium ion and the vesicles and large aggregates were formed. In the presence of cholesterol, large aggregates of about 250–350 nm appeared during storage at +4 and −18 °C for more than 1 day.