Article
Article
Liposomes
Article By:
MacDonald, Robert C. Department of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.
MacDonald, Ruby I. Department of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.
Last reviewed:August 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.385650
Aqueous compartments enclosed by lipid bilayer membranes; also known as lipid vesicles. Phospholipid molecules consist of an elongated nonpolar (hydrophobic) structure with a polar (hydrophilic) structure at one end. When dispersed in water, they spontaneously form bilayer membranes, also called lamellae, which are composed of two monolayer layer sheets of lipid molecules with their nonpolar (hydrophobic) surfaces facing each other and their polar (hydrophilic) surfaces facing the aqueous medium. The membranes enclose a portion of the aqueous phase much like the cell membrane which encloses the cell; in fact, the bilayer membrane is essentially a cell membrane without its protein components. See also: Cell membrane; Lipid
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