A simple method to make, trap and deform a vesicle in a gel

Abstract

We present a simple method to produce giant lipid pseudo‑vesicles (vesicles with an oily cap on the top), trapped in an agarose gel. The method can be implemented using only a regular micropipette and relies on the formation of a water/oil/water double droplet in liquid agarose. We characterize the produced vesicle with fluorescence imaging and establish the presence and integrity of the lipid bilayer by the successful insertion of α‑Hemolysin transmembrane proteins. Finally, we show that the vesicle can be easily mechanically deformed, non‑intrusively, by indenting the surface of the gel.