Mechanical characterization of vesicles and cells: A review

Vesicles perform many essential functions in all living organisms. They respond like a transducer to mechanical stress in converting the applied force into mechanical and biological responses. At the same time, both biochemical and biophysical signals influence the vesicular response in bearing mechanical loads. In recent years, liposomes, artificial lipid vesicles, have gained substantial attention from the pharmaceutical industry as a prospective drug carrier which can also serve as an artificial cell-mimetic system. The ability of these vesicles to enter through pores of even smaller size makes them ideal candidates for therapeutic agents to reach the infected sites effectively. Engineering of vesicles with desired mechanical properties that can encapsulate drugs and release as required is the prime challenge in this field. This requirement has led to the modifications of the composition of the bilayer membrane by adding cholesterol, sphingomyelin, etc. In this article, we review the manufacturing and characterization techniques of various artificial/synthetic vesicles. We particularly focus on the electric field-driven characterization techniques to determine different properties of vesicle and its membranes, such as bending rigidity, viscosity, capacitance, conductance, etc., which are indicators of their content and mobility. Similarities and differences between artificial vesicles, natural vesicles, and cells are highlighted throughout the manuscript since most of these artificial vesicles are intended for cell mimetic functions.