Vesicle-coated fibers and methods of making and using

A method for making a vesicle-coated substrate, the method comprising:

• (a i) dispersing an amphiphilic molecule in a solvent;
• (a ii) coating a paper substrate with a polymer selected from one of carboxymethylcellulose, dextran and polypeptides;
• (b) contacting the dispersed amphiphilic molecule of (a i) with the fibrous-substrate;
• (c) removing the solvent;
• and
• (d) incubating the amphiphile-coated substrate in a growth buffer solution having a temperature that is less than the transition temperature of the amphiphilic molecule, wherein the ionic strength of the growth buffer is less than 10 mM monovalent salt and increased during the incubation to higher than 10 mM monovalent salt, and wherein vesiculation is induced by increasing the temperature of the growth buffer to a temperature greater than the transition temperature of the amphiphile, wherein vesicles encapsulates hydrophilic molecules within their lumen, and wherein the encapsulated hydrophilic molecules are protected until they are released from the vesicles.