Vesicle-Directed Growth of Silica

Abstract

Silica-coated vesicles have been produced by the deposition of silica onto unilamellar vesicles from aqueous solution for the first time. The quaternary ammonium surface of the surfactant vesicles is receptive to silica and facilitates deposition of up to 5–10 nm of it. The “petrified” vesicles are stable to dehydration and can be visualized by conventional TEM (see Figure) without additional staining agents.