Dye Release Experiments with Dextran Loaded Vesicles

Abstract

Dye release experiments are a widely used method to assess the interactions between membrane-active molecules and lipid membranes. Of particular interest is the ability to assess the degree of the lipid bilayer perturbation by simultaneously encapsulating dye of different sizes, such as dextrans grafted with a chromophore. In this assay, dextran linked to rhodamine or fluorescein are both encapsulated in lipid vesicles to allow quantifying the leakage of each dextran individually from a single sample. For instance, the size evaluation of the lipid pore formed by an antimicrobial peptide has been recently achieved using this protocol (Sani et al., 2013).