Controlling nucleation in giant liposomes

Abstract

We introduce giant liposomes to investigate phase transformations in picoliter volumes. Precipitation of calcium carbonate in the confinement of DPPC liposomes leads to dramatic stabilization of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC). In contrast, amorphous strontium carbonate (ASC) is a transient species, and BaCO₃ precipitation leads directly to the formation of crystalline witherite.