I've prepared lipid(DOPC) GUVs(giant vesicles) in 100mM glucose in PBS solution by gel-assisted method. And in order to harvest them I pipette the solution so they can be peeled off from the gel surface. Since the vesicles harvested also contain small vesicles (SUVs) and large visicles (LUVs)(
It is expected that in case of only DOPC GUVs, the overall sizes are very small in general. But, you can isolate GUVs from the other small GUVs (less than 10 micrometer) or SUVs, LUVs by using membrane filtration method. There have been used 10 micrometer diameter pores nucleopore polycarbonate (Whatman® Nucleopore™ Track-Etched Membranes, UK) filter paper. You may use this method twice to get you desired size GUVs. This journal paper will helps you to isolate GUVs from a solution contain SUVs and LUVs. Best wishes...
Article A membrane filtering method for the purification of giant un...
One possibility would be to use solutions of different densities.
As you said, you have LUV/SUV contaminants from the GUV sample.
In case the choice of solutions is not mandatory, you could prepare your vesicles in sucrose (rather than glucose), and use glucose as the external medium. Since the density of sucrose is higher, the vesicles will sediment in glucose solutions.
In your case, both small and giant vesicles you sediment eventually due to this density gradient, but the GUVs are larger, and thus heavier, and they will sediment first.
Hope you succeed, and in case you do I would be curious to know the protocol you chose.
All the best of luck
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