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Description:
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A feasible approach for the production of large yields of liposomes (model cell membranes ) is demonstrated . The technique involves rapid evaporation of chloroform from a mixture of lipid , chloroform and methanol , which consistently produces giant unilamellar vesicles (liposomes ) having a size distribution of 15 -75 micrometers . The procedure is feasible at laboratory scale and produces quick results . Different methods for attaching fluorescein labeled liposomes to glass capillaries are presented . The immobilization of liposomes to glass surfaces can be applied as a useful tool for the observation of structural changes taking place on their surface when they are subjected to a uniform flow . This would permit some insight into the configurational variations taking place on a cell membrane surface in the blood stream . As a preliminary model for the computation of forces acting on the liposomes under flow , a mathematical model was developed using the direct radial basis function method . The technique is applied to three dimensional flow in a square channel which replicates the velocity profile inside the rectangular glass capillary tube . |