FIGURE 5.

Model of in vitro lipid droplet (LD) construction. There are usually two models for the in vitro reconstruction of LDs: aLDs containing a monolayer of phospholipid (PL) membranes and droplet‐embedded vesicles (DEVs). aLDs are excellent mimics of endogenous LDs because of their high similarity in structure and lipid composition. It has been widely utilised in LD biology, especially protein interactions, DNA binding and incubation of cells as biocompatible carrier. The DEV model demonstrates the distribution and assembly of lipids in bilayers, which is consistent with the generation of LDs from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Using the DEV model, the researchers have explored the influences on LD budding from a biophysical perspective and have achieved excellent results, confirming the way in which lipid and protein fractions affect LD budding through surface tension.