Figure 6.

Lipid-mixing and content-mixing experiments with small unilamellar vesicles (SUVs) decorated with E- and K-peptides (100% refers to 1:1 vesicle mixing). (A) Texas Red self-quenching assay for lipid mixing. Labeled SUVs were functionalized with K-peptides and mixed with unlabeled E-peptide bearing SUVs (start of mixing: t = 0). Parallel peptide packing facilitates lipid mixing (solid circles: K3Cys + E3Cys; solid triangles: i-K3Cys + i-E3Cys) compared with antiparallel coiled-coil formation (open circles: K3Cys + i-E3Cys, open triangles: i-K3Cys + E3Cys). (B) Content mixing monitored with an SRB self-quenching assay. K-peptide-functionalized SUVs were filled with SRB (20 mM) and mixed with buffer-filled SUVs displaying E-peptides. At time t = 0, Ca²⁺ ions were added (c_final = 8 mM). Same legend as used in panel A.