Thin-layer chromatography with agarose gels. A quick, simple method for evaluating liposome size.

Thin-layer gels can be made with agarose and used to assess within a few minutes the efficiency with which multilamellar vesicles are converted to small unilamellar ones by sonication. A fluroescent lipid marker or vesicle-encapsulated solute permits continuous monitoring of the chromatography. Advantages over agarose gel column chromatography include speed of analysis, small sample size, the possibility of running multiple samples and simultaneously, and direct accessibility to fluorescence microscopy. This approach should also be useful in the study of liposome-lipoprotein interactions and in affinity chromatography of liposomes.