ABSTRACT

The science of single-bilayer vesicles with a giant size that has emerged at the end of the sixties has since grown within a multidisciplinary community that The Giant Vesicle Book is aimed to serve. This first chapter of the book must obviously be a practical guide for the scientist wishing to prepare giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs): it thus introduces the founding spontaneous swelling strategies, but elaborates also on the large spectrum of the other methods that have since been developed to bring increased facility and improved control to the formation of giant unilamellar vesicles. The underlying principles as well as detailed protocols are introduced for vesicle electroformation, spontaneous and gel-assisted swelling, droplet-transfer and GUV blowing. Hints and tips for dealing with lipids and for making GUVs are also discussed in the chapter.