6533b860fe1ef96bd12c2ef2

RESEARCH PRODUCT

The role of the hydrophobic force in bilayer adhesion and fusion

subject

description

The Surface Forces Apparatus technique was used for measuring the adhesion, deformation, and fusion of bilayers supported on mica. The technique allows the molecular rearrangements to be followed in real time during the fusion process, and the most important forces involved to be identified. The adhesion between two bilayers can be increased by two orders of magnitude if they are thinned so as to expose more hydrophobic groups. For all the bilayer systems studied a single basic fusion mechanism was found in which the bilayers do not “overcome” the short-range repulsive steric-hydration forces; instead, local bilayer deformations allow these repulsive forces to be “bypassed”. The results further indicate that the most important force leading to the direct fusion of bilayers is the hydrophobic attraction acting between the hydrophobic interiors of bilayers (1, 2).