FIGURE 1.

Microfluidic setup for forming surface-attached giant liposomes and triggering fusion of these liposomes. A PDMS spacer with embedded silicone tubing leading into and out of four parallel flow chambers was sandwiched between two glass plates each covered with a surface of ITO. Films of lipids were spin coated onto the surfaces of ITO before assembly of the setup. Giant liposomes were formed by electroformation after filling the chambers with solution. An AC electric field was applied to the ITO surfaces over 2 h to form liposomes. This setup was optically transparent and allowed the introduction of new solutions to the chambers at defined flow rates using a microprocessor-controlled syringe pump.