Preparation of size tunable giant vesicles from cross-linked dextran(ethylene glycol) hydrogels.

We present a novel chemically cross-linked dextran-poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogel substrate for the preparation of dense vesicle suspensions under physiological ionic strength conditions. These vesicles can be easily diluted for individual study. Modulating the degree of cross-linking within the hydrogel network results in tuning of the vesicle size distribution.