6533b821fe1ef96bd127ac7c

RESEARCH PRODUCT

On ripples and rafts: Curvature induced nanoscale structures in lipid membranes

Sebastian MeinhardtFriederike SchmidOlaf LenzStefan Dolezel

subject

Physics::Biological PhysicsHistoryMaterials scienceNanotechnologyCurvatureQuantitative Biology::Cell BehaviorComputer Science ApplicationsEducationCondensed Matter::Soft Condensed MatterQuantitative Biology::Subcellular ProcessesMembranePhase (matter)MonolayerBiophysicslipids (amino acids peptides and proteins)Lipid bilayer phase behaviorLipid bilayerNanoscopic scaleLipid raft

description

We develop an elastic theory that predicts the spontaneous formation of nanoscale structures in lipid bilayers which locally phase separate between two phases with different spontaneous monolayer curvature. The theory rationalizes in a unified manner the observation of a variety of nanoscale structures in lipid membranes: Rippled states in one-component membranes, lipid rafts in multicomponent membranes. Furthermore, we report on recent observations of rippled states and rafts in simulations of a simple coarse-grained model for lipid bilayers, which are compatible with experimental observations and with our elastic model.

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
2014-03-11Journal of Physics: Conference Series
https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/487/1/012004