Transformation pathways of liposomes.

Liposomes undergoing transformation were observed by dark-field light microscopy in order to study the role of lipid in morphogenesis of biological vesicular structures. Liposomes were found to transform sequentially in a well-defined manner through one of several transformation pathways. A circular biconcave form was an initial shape in all the pathways and it transformed into a stable thin flexible filament or small spheres via a variety of regularly shaped vesicles which possessed geometrical symmetry. The transformation was reversible up to a certain point in each pathway. Osmotic pressure was found to be the driving force for the transformations. Biological membrane vesicles such as trypsinized red cell ghosts also transformed by similar pathways.