2.4. Purification of GUVs

The ALFQ suspension was initially diluted 1:10 using SPBS. The diluted ALFQ samples (5 mL) were placed in glass centrifuge tubes and centrifuged in an RC5C Sorvall^® centrifuge (DuPont, Newtown, CT, USA) at 8000 RPM (767× g) for 10 min at 22 °C. The supernatant was decanted into a clean glass tube, and the pellet was washed 3× with SPBS to remove trapped small vesicles. Both the supernatant from the first centrifugation and the washed pellet were viewed by light microscopy for size characterization. The small vesicles in the supernatant were also analyzed by dynamic light scattering (DLS). The quantities (μg) of the liposomal phospholipids, cholesterol, MPLA, and QS21 in the washed pellet and the supernatant were determined using an ultraperformance liquid chromatography–high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC–MS/MS) method.