%0 Journal Article
%T Swelling and penetration of fatty acid vesicles under ion-competitive environment.
%A Chen L
%A Huang Y
%A Zhao H
%A Xue S
%J Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces
%V 236
%N 0
%D 2024 Apr 15
%M 38382226
%F 5.999
%R 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2024.113800
%X The physicochemical characteristics of fatty acid (FA) vesicles and their ion sensitivity as drug delivery vehicles in an ion-competitive environment have received much attention. Here, we show that in a Na+/K+ competitive ionic environment, FA vesicles undergo a cascade of periodic expansion and selective ion retention in response to osmotic attack. When the Na+/K+ ratio is altered, the expansion and volume of vesicles are affected and the ions in vesicles mix with the hyperosmotic fluid to produce a stable transmembrane potential, consistent with the Donnan effect and iontophoresis theory. Furthermore, osmotic swelling experiments suggest that FA vesicles are more easily maintained in a single Na+ or K+ solution than in a multicomponent ion competition system. As a theoretical basis for the utilization of FA vesicles in multicomponent ionic environments, we developed a core theoretical model to characterize the basic features of the volume fluctuations of FA vesicles in ion-competing environments.