What can we learn about the lipid vesicle structure from the small-angle neutron scattering experiment? (Investigation DMPC vesicle structure by small angle neutron scattering)
M. A. Kiselev, E. V. Zemlyanaya, V. K. Aswal, R. H. H. Neubert
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18 pages; 7 figures; 5 tables. Submitted to the European Biophysics Journal. Available as JINR Preprint E14-2005-93 (Dubna, Russia) 2005
Small angle neutron scattering (SANS) on the unilamellar vesicle populations (diameter 500 and 1000 angstrom) was used to characterize lipid vesicles from dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) at three phases (gel, ripple, and liquid). Parameters of vesicle populations and internal structure of the DMPC bilayer were characterized on the basis of the Separated Form Factor (SFF) model. Parameters of the internal bilayer structure (thickness of the membrane and the hydrophobic core, hydration, and surface area of lipid molecule) were determined on the basis of the Hydrophobic-Hydrophilic (HH) approximation of neutron scattering length density across the bilayer r(x) and of the Step Function (SF) approximation of r(x). It was demonstrated in frame of HH approximation that DMPC membrane thickness in liquid phase (T=30 degrees) depends on the membrane curvature. The dependence of the DMPC membrane thickness on temperature was restored from the SANS experiment.
On the basis of the separated form-factors model, parameters of the polydispersed unilamellar DMPC vesicle population are analyzed. The neutron scattering length density across the membrane is simulated on the basis of fluctuated model of lipid bilayer. The hydration of vesicle is described by sigmoid distribution function of the water molecules. The results of fitting of the experimental data obtained at the small angle spectrometer SANS-I, PSI (Switzerland) are: average vesicle radius 272 angstrom, polydispersity of the radius 27%, membrane thickness 50.6 angstrom, thickness of hydrocarbon c…
We propose a free energy expression accounting for the formation of spherical vesicles from planar lipidic membranes and derive a Fokker-Planck equation for the probability distribution describing the dynamics of vesicle formation. We found that formation may occur as an activated process for small membranes and as a transport process for sufficiently large membranes. We give explicit expressions for the transition rates and the characteristic time of vesicle formation in terms of the relevant physical parameters.
Bio-conjugated nanomaterials play a promising role in the development of novel supramolecular structures, molecular machines, and biosensing devices. In this study, lipid-conjugated gold nanoparticles were synthesized and allowed to form a self-assembled monolayer structure. The nanoparticles were prepared by a phase transfer method, which involved the reduction of potassium tetrachloroaurate (III) by sodium citrate in an aqueous solution and the simultaneous transfer of the reduced species to an organic medium containing DMPC (1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine). The gold nanoparticl…
Lipid bilayer membranes are commonly modeled as area-preserving fluid surfaces that resist bending. There appear to be two schools of thought in the literature concerning the actual area constraint. In some works the total or global area (GA) of the vesicle is a prescribed constant, while in others the local area ratio is assigned to unity. In this work we demonstrate the equivalence of these ostensibly distinct approaches in the specific case when the equilibrium configuration is a smooth, closed surface of genus zero. We accomplish this in the context of the Euler-Lagrange equilibrium equati…
Cationic lipid membranes are known to form compact complexes with DNA and to be effective as gene delivery agents both in vitro and in vivo. Here we employ molecular dynamics simulations for a detailed atomistic study of lipid bilayers consisting of a mixture of cationic dimyristoyltrimethylammonium propane (DMTAP) and zwitterionic dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC). Our main objective is to examine how the composition of the bilayers affects their structural and electrostatic properties in the liquid-crystalline phase. By varying the mole fraction of DMTAP, we have found that the area per …
The impact of nanomaterials on lung fluids or on the plasma membrane of living cells has prompted researchers to examine the interactions between nanoparticles and lipid vesicles. Recent studies have shown that nanoparticle-lipid interaction leads to a broad range of structures including supported lipid bilayers (SLB), particles adsorbed at the surface or internalized inside vesicles, and mixed aggregates. Today, there is a need to have simple protocols that can readily assess the nature of structures obtained from particles and vesicles. Here we apply the method of continuous variation for me…
Using Coarse-Grained Molecular Dynamics simulations, we study the relaxation of bilayer vesicles, uniaxially compressed by an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) cantilever. The relaxation time exhibits a strong force-dependence. Force-compression curves are very similar to recent experiments wherein giant unilamellar vesicles were compressed in a nearly identical manner.
(200 words) Oxidation of unsaturated lipids is a fundamental process involved in cell bioenergetics as well as in cell death. Using giant unilamellar vesicles and a chlorin photosensitizer, we asymmetrically oxidized the outer or inner monolayers of lipid membranes. We observed different shape transitions such as oblate to prolate and budding, which are typical of membrane curvature modifications. The asymmetry of the shape transitions is in accordance with a lowered effective spontaneous curvature of the leaflet being targeted. We interpret this effect as a decrease in the preferred area of t…
Many biological systems fold thin sheets of lipid membrane into complex three-dimensional structures. This microscopic origami is often mediated by the adsorption and self-assembly of proteins on a membrane. As a model system to study adsorption-mediated interactions, we study the collective behavior of micrometric particles adhered to a lipid vesicle. We estimate the colloidal interactions using a maximum likelihood analysis of particle trajectories. When the particles are highly wrapped by a tense membrane, we observe strong long-range attractions with a typical binding energy of 150 $k_B T$…
We report a high energy-resolution neutron backscattering study, combined with in-situ diffraction, to investigate slow molecular motions on nanosecond time scales in the fluid phase of phospholipid bilayers of 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phoshatidylcholine (DMPC) and DMPC/40% cholesterol (wt/wt). A cooperative structural relaxation process was observed. From the in-plane scattering vector dependence of the relaxation rates in hydrogenated and deuterated samples, combined with results from a 0.1 microsecond long all atom molecular dynamics simulation, it is concluded that correlated dynamics …
We study the effect of permeabilizing electric fields applied to two different types of giant unilamellar vesicles, the first formed from EggPC lipids and the second formed from DOPC lipids. Experiments on vesicles of both lipid types show a decrease in vesicle radius which is interpreted as being due to lipid loss during the permeabilization process. We show that the decrease in size can be qualitatively explained as a loss of lipid area which is proportional to the area of the vesicle which is permeabilized. Three possible mechanisms responsible for lipid loss were directly observed: pore fo…
We study a synthetic system of motile Escherichia coli bacteria encapsulated inside giant lipid vesicles. Forces exerted by the bacteria on the inner side of the membrane are sufficient to extrude membrane tubes filled with one or several bacteria. We show that a physical coupling between the membrane tube and the flagella of the enclosed cells transforms the tube into an effective helical flagellum propelling the vesicle. We develop a simple theoretical model to estimate the propulsive force from the speed of the vesicles, and demonstrate the good efficiency of this coupling mechanism. Togeth…
The possibility to use sucrose solutions as medium for X-ray and neutron small-angle scattering experiments has been explored for dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) vesicles and mixed DMPC/C_(12)E_(8) aggregates. The influence of sucrose concentration on phospholipid vesicles size and polydispersity has been investigated by complimentary X-ray and neutron scattering. Sucrose solutions decreased vesicle size and polydispersity and increased a contrast between phospholipid membrane and bulk solvent sufficiently for X-rays. 40% sucrose in H2O increased X-ray contrast by up to 10 times compared…
The interaction between the bacterial S-protein SbpA on different types of lipid membranes has been studied using atomic force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation. On one hand, It has been found that the bacterial forms two dimensional nanocrystals on zwitterionic DOPC bilayers and negatively charged DMPG vesicles adsorbed on mica, on zwitterionic DPPC and charged DPPC/DMPG (1:1) monolayers adsorbed on carbon grids. On the other hand, SbpA protein adsorption took place on zwitterionic DOPC bilayers and DOPC/DOPS (4:1) bilayers, previou…
The hydration process of multi-stacked phospholipid bilayers to form giant vesicles was investigated by time-resolved small angle X-ray scattering. The hydration of lipids in the liquid-crystalline phase was found to proceed in two stages. In the early stage, until about 100 s after hydration, lipid bilayers on a solid substrate swell about 12 $\rmÅ$ and reach a quasi-stable state. In the late stage, after several hundreds of seconds, lipid bilayers gradually peel off from the stack. On the other hand, in the case of a lipid in the gel phase, only the early stage is observed. These behaviors c…
Unravelling the physical mechanisms behind the organisation of lipid domains is a central goal in cell biology and membrane biophysics. Previous studies on cells and model lipid bilayers featuring phase-separated domains found an intricate interplay between the membrane geometry and its chemical composition. However, the lack of a model system with simultaneous control over the membrane shape and conservation of its composition precluded a fundamental understanding of curvature-induced effects. Here, we present a new class of multicomponent vesicles supported by colloidal scaffolds of designed…
Amphiphilic molecules such as surfactants, lipids and block copolymers can be assembled into bilayers and form vesicles. Fluorescent membrane labeling methods require the use of dye molecules that can be inserted in the bilayers at different stages of the synthesis. To our knowledge there is no generalized method for labeling preformed vesicles. Herein we develop a versatile protocol that is suitable to both surfactant and lipid preformed vesicles and requires no separation or purification steps. Based on the lipophilic carbocyanine green dye PKH67, the methodology is assessed on zwitterionic …
Lipid vesicles play a key role in fundamental biological processes. Despite recent progress, we lack a complete understanding of the non-equilibrium dynamics of vesicles due to challenges associated with long-time observation of shape fluctuations in strong flows. In this work, we present a flow-phase diagram for vesicle shape and conformational transitions in planar extensional flow using a Stokes trap, which enables control over the center-of-mass position of single or multiple vesicles in precisely defined flows [Shenoy, Rao, Schroeder, \textit{PNAS}, 113(15):3976-3981, 2016]. In this way, …
In this work we demonstrate how the first order phase transition in giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) can function as a trigger for membrane fission. When driven through their gel-fluid phase transition GUVs exhibit budding or pearl formation. These buds remain connected to the mother vesicle presumably by a small neck. Cooling these vesicles from the fluid phase (T>Tm) through the phase transition into the gel state (T<Tm), leads to complete rupture and fission of the neck, while the mother vesicle remains intact. Pearling tubes which formed upon heating break-up and decay into multiple indiv…
Lipid membranes in a physiological context cannot be understood without taking into account their mobile environment. Here, we report on a high energy-resolution neutron backscattering study to investigate slow motions on nanosecond time scales in highly oriented solid supported phospholipid bilayers of the model system DMPC -d54 (deuterated 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phoshatidylcholine). This technique allows discriminating the Q-dependent onset of mobility and provides a benchmark test regarding the feasibility of dynamical neutron scattering investigations on these sample systems. Apart f…
We establish a biophysical model for the dynamics of lipid vesicles exposed to surfactants. The solubilization of the lipid membrane due to the insertion of surfactant molecules induces a reduction of membrane surface area at almost constant vesicle volume. This results in a rate-dependent increase of membrane tension and leads to the opening of a micron-sized pore. We show that solubilization kinetics due to surfactants can determine the regimes of pore dynamics: either the pores open and reseal within a second (short-lived pore), or the pore stays open up to a few minutes (long-lived pore). …
The response of lipid bilayers to osmotic stress is an important part of cellular function. Previously, in [Oglecka et al. 2014], we reported that cell-sized giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) exposed to hypotonic media, respond to the osmotic assault by undergoing a cyclical sequence of swelling and bursting events, coupled to the membrane's compositional degrees of freedom. Here, we seek to deepen our quantitative understanding of the essential pulsatile behavior of GUVs under hypotonic conditions, by advancing a comprehensive theoretical model for vesicle dynamics. The model quantitatively c…
Membrane budding has been extensively studied as an equilibrium process attributed to the formation of coexisting domains or changes in the vesicle area to volume ratio (reduced volume). In contrast, non-equilibrium budding remains experimentally widely unexplored especially when time scales fall well below the characteristic diffusion time of lipidsτ . We show that localized mechanical perturbations, initiated by driving giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) through their lipid phase transition, leads to the immediate formation of rapidly growing, multiply localized, non-equilibrium buds, when th…
We investigate the permeability of lipid membranes for fluorescence dyes and ions. We find that permeability reaches a maximum close to the chain melting transition of the membranes. Close to transitions, fluctuations in area and compressibility are high, leading to an increased likelihood of spontaneous lipid pore formation. Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS) reveals the permeability for rhodamine dyes across 100 nm vesicles. Using FCS, we find that the permeability of vesicle membranes for fluorescence dyes is within error proportional to the excess heat capacity. To estimate defect…
Biological membranes constantly change their shape in response to external stimuli, and understanding the remodeling and stability of vesicles in heterogeneous environments is therefore of fundamental importance for a range of cellular processes. One crucial question is how vesicles respond to external osmotic stresses, imposed by differences in solute concentrations between the vesicle interior and exterior. Previous analyses of the membrane bending energy have predicted that micron-sized giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) should become globally deformed already for nanomolar concentration dif…
The spatio-temporal organization of proteins and the associated morphological changes in membranes are of importance in cell signaling. Several mechanisms that promote the aggregation of proteins at low cell surface concentrations have been investigated in the past. We show, using Monte Carlo simulations, that the affinity of proteins for specific lipids can hasten its aggregation kinetics. The lipid membrane is modeled as a dynamically triangulated surface with the proteins defined as in-plane fields at the vertices. We show that, even at low protein concentrations, strong lipid-protein inter…
Biomembranes, which are mainly composed of neutral and charged lipids, exhibit a large variety of functional structures and dynamics. Here, we report a coarse-grained molecular dynamics (MD) simulation of the phase separation and morphological dynamics in charged lipid bilayer vesicles. The screened long-range electrostatic repulsion among charged head groups delays or inhibits the lateral phase separation in charged vesicles compared with neutral vesicles, suggesting the transition of the phase-separation mechanism from spinodal decomposition to nucleation or homogeneous dispersion. Moreover,…
Lipid bilayer membranes are the fundamental biological barriers that permit life. The bilayer dynamics largely participates in orchestrating cellular workings and is characterized by substantial stability together with extreme plasticity that allows controlled morphological/topological changes. Modeling and understanding the topological change of vesicle-like membrane at the scale of a full cell has proved an elusive aim. We propose and discuss here a continuum model able to encompass the fusion/fission transition of a bilayer membrane at the scale of a Large Unilamellar Vesicle and evaluate t…
Enhanced manipulation and analysis of bio-particles using light confined in nano-scale dielectric structures has proceeded apace in the last several years. Small mode volumes, along with the lack of a need for bulky optical elements give advantages in sensitivity and scalability relative to conventional optical manipulation. However, manipulation of lipid vesicles (liposomes) remains difficult, particularly in the sub-micron diameter regime. Here we demonstrate the optical trapping and transport of sub-micron diameter liposomes along an optical nanofiber using the nanofiber mode's evanescent f…
The study of vesicles in suspension is important to understand the complicated dynamics exhibited by cells in vivo and in vitro. We developed a computer simulation based on the boundary-integral method to model the three dimensional gravity-driven sedimentation of charged vesicles towards a flat surface. The membrane mechanical behavior was modeled using the Helfrich Hamiltonian and near incompressibility of the membrane was enforced via a model which accounts for the thermal fluctuations of the membrane. The simulations were verified and compared to experimental data obtained using suspended …
We use a long, all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulation combined with theoretical modeling to investigate the dynamics of selected lipid atoms and lipid molecules in a hydrated diyristoyl-phosphatidylcholine (DMPC) lipid bilayer. From the analysis of a 0.1 $μ$s MD trajectory we find that the time evolution of the mean square displacement, [δ{r}(t)]^2, of lipid atoms and molecules exhibits three well separated dynamical regions: (i) ballistic, with [δ{r}(t)]^2 ~ t^2 for t < 10 fs; (ii) subdiffusive, with [δ{r}(t)]^2 ~ t^β with β<1, for 10 ps < t < 10 ns; and (iii) Fickian diffusion, with [δ{…
The Helfrich bending energy plays an important role in providing a mechanism for the conformation of a lipid vesicle in theoretical biophysics, which is governed by the principle of energy minimization over configurations of appropriate topological characteristics. We will show that the presence of a quantity called the spontaneous curvature obstructs the existence of a minimizer of the Helfrich energy over the set of embedded ring tori. Besides, despite the well-realized knowledge that lipid vesicles may present themselves in a variety of shapes of complicated topology, there is a lack of top…
We adapted the highly successful scattering density profile (SDP) model, which is used to jointly analyze small angle x-ray and neutron scattering data from unilamellar vesicles, for use with data from fully hydrated, liquid crystalline multilamellar vesicles (MLVs). By using a genetic algorithm, this new method is capable of providing high resolution structural information, as well as determining bilayer elastic bending fluctuations from standalone x-ray data. Important structural parameters, such as bilayer thickness and area per lipid were determined for a series of saturated and unsaturate…
We present a simple method to produce giant lipid pseudo-vesicles (vesicles with an oily cap on the top), trapped in an agarose gel. The method can be implemented using only a regular micropipette and relies on the formation of a water/oil/water double droplet in liquid agarose. We characterize the produced vesicle with fluorescence imaging and establish the presence and integrity of the lipid bilayer by the successful insertion of α-Hemolysin transmembrane proteins. Finally, we show that the vesicle can be easily mechanically deformed, non-intrusively, by indenting the surface of the gel.
The assembly of curved protein rods on fluid membranes is studied using implicit-solvent meshless membrane simulations. As the rod curvature increases, the rods on a membrane tube assemble along the azimuthal direction first and subsequently along the longitudinal direction. Here, we show that both transition curvatures decrease with increasing rod stiffness. For comparison, curvature-inducing isotropic inclusions are also simulated. When the isotropic inclusions have the same bending rigidity as the other membrane regions, the inclusions are uniformly distributed on the membrane tubes and ves…
Recent experiments have shown that when a near-hemispherical lipid vesicle attached to a solid surface is subjected to a simple shear flow it exhibits a pattern of membrane circulation much like a dipole vortex. This is in marked contrast to the toroidal circulation that would occur in the related problem of a drop of immiscible fluid attached to a surface and subjected to shear. This profound difference in flow patterns arises from the lateral incompressibility of the membrane, which restricts the observable flows to those in which the velocity field in the membrane is two-dimensionally diver…
Piezo ion channels underlie many forms of mechanosensation in vertebrates, and have been found to bend the membrane into strongly curved dome shapes. We develop here a methodology describing the self-assembly of lipids and Piezo into polyhedral bilayer vesicles. We validate this methodology for bilayer vesicles formed from bacterial mechanosensitive channels of small conductance, for which experiments found a polyhedral arrangement of proteins with snub cube symmetry and a well-defined characteristic vesicle size. On this basis, we calculate the self-assembly diagram for polyhedral bilayer ves…
Photoresponsive materials feature properties that can be adjusted near- instantaneously, reversibly, and with high spatiotemporal precision, by light. There is considerable interest in maximising the degree of switching, and in measuring this degree during illumination in complex environments. We study the switching of photoresponsive lipid membranes that allow precise and reversible manipulation of membrane shape, permeability, and fluidity. Though these macroscopic photoresponses are clear, it is unclear how large the changes of trans/cis ratio are, and whether they can be improved. Here, we…
This review reports some key results in theoretical investigations on configurations of lipid membranes and presents several challenges in this field which involve (i) exact solutions to the shape equation of lipid vesicles; (ii) exact solutions to the governing equations of open lipid membranes; (iii) neck condition of two-phase vesicles in the budding state; (iv) nonlocal theory of membrane elasticity; (v) relationship between symmetry and the magnitude of free energy.
We investigate the stability of growing vesicles using the formalism of nonequilibrium thermodynamics. The vesicles are growing due to the accretion of lipids to the bilayer which forms the vesicle membrane. The thermodynamic description is based on the hydrodynamics of a water{/}lipid mixture together with a model of the vesicle as a discontinuous system in the sense of linear nonequilibrium thermodynamics. This formulation allows the forces and fluxes relevant to the dynamic stability of the vesicle to be identified. The method is used to analyze the stability of a spherical vesicle against …
A transient analysis for vesicle deformation under DC electric fields is developed. The theory extends from a droplet model, with the additional consideration of a lipid membrane separating two fluids of arbitrary properties. For the latter, both a membrane-charging and a membrane-mechanical model are supplied. The vesicle is assumed to remain spheroidal in shape for all times. The main result is an ODE governing the evolution of the vesicle aspect ratio. The effects of initial membrane tension and pulse length are examined. The model prediction is extensively compared with experimental data, …
Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) are physical techniques widely employed to characterize the morphology and the structure of vesicles such as liposomes or human extracellular vesicles (exosomes). Bacterial extracellular vesicles are similar in size to human exosomes, although their function and membrane properties have not been elucidated in such detail as in the case of exosomes. Here, we applied the above cited techniques, in synergy with the thermodynamic characterization of the vesicles lipid membrane using a tur…
BAR superfamily proteins have a banana-shaped domain that causes the local bending of lipid membranes. We study as to how such a local anisotropic curvature induces effective interaction between proteins and changes the global shape of vesicles and membrane tubes using meshless membrane simulations. The proteins are modeled as banana-shaped rods strongly adhered to the membrane. Our study reveals that the rods assemble via two continuous directional phase separations unlike a conventional two-dimensional phase separation. As the rod curvature increases, in the membrane tube the rods assemble a…
As two-dimensional fluid shells, lipid bilayer membranes resist bending and stretching but are unable to sustain shear stresses. This property gives membranes the ability to adopt dramatic shape changes. In this paper, a finite element model is developed to study static equilibrium mechanics of membranes. In particular, a viscous regularization method is proposed to stabilize tangential mesh deformations and improve the convergence rate of nonlinear solvers. The Augmented Lagrangian method is used to enforce global constraints on area and volume during membrane deformations. As a validation of…
Current fluctuations in pure lipid membranes have been shown to occur under the influence of transmembrane electric fields (electroporation) as well as a result from structural rearrangements of the lipid bilayer during phase transition (soft perforation). We demonstrate that the ion permeability during lipid phase transition exhibits the same qualitative temperature dependence as the macroscopic heat capacity of a D15PC/DOPC vesicle suspension. Microscopic current fluctuations show distinct characteristics for each individual phase state. While current fluctuations in the fluid phase show spi…
Giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs), are a convenient tool to study membrane-bound processes using optical microscopy. An increasing number of studies highlights the potential of these model membranes when addressing questions in membrane biophysics and cell biology. Among them, phase transitions and domain formation, dynamics and stability in raft-like mixtures are probably some of the most intensively investigated. In doing so, many research teams rely on standard protocols for GUV preparation and handling involving the use of sugar solutions. Here, we demonstrate that following such a standar…
The hydrodynamic drag at a lipid bilayer surface determines in part the flow properties of suspensions of cells and liposomes. Given the fluidity of lipid bilayers, it is not obvious a priori whether solid-like no-slip, liquid-like no-stress, or intermediate boundary conditions apply at the water-bilayer interface. Though no-slip conditions have been widely assumed for many decades, this fundamental aspect of membrane rheology has, to our knowledge, never been directly measured for free bilayers. We applied light sheet fluorescence microscopy to image freely diffusing phospholipid vesicles and…
A method has been developed to monitor changes of the membrane potential across vesicle membranes in real time. Using the potential-sensitive fluorescent dye indocyanine and on the basis of water/lipid redistribution model, a calculation procedure has been introduced to estimate the membrane potential in vesicles with incorporated cytochrome-c oxidase. Physical parameters, such as vesicle size distribution and density of the lipid bilayer were estimated and used as calculation parameters. By extrapolation of transient potential change to zero time, the initial rate of the potential change (dU/…
A method for determining permeability of phospholipid bilayer based on the osmotic swelling of micrometer-sized giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) is presented as an alternative to the two established techniques, dynamic light scattering on liposome suspension, and electrical measurements on planar lipid bilayers. In the described technique, an individual GUV is transferred using a micropipette from a sucrose/glucose solution into an isomolar solution containing the solute under investigation. Throughout the experiment, vesicle cross-section is monitored and recorded using a digital camera moun…
The presence of membrane tubules in living cells is essential to many biological processes. In cells, one mechanism to form nanosized lipid tubules is via molecular motor induced bilayer extraction. In this paper, we describe a simple experimental model to investigate the forces required for lipid tube formation using kinesin motors anchored to DOPC vesicles. Previous related studies have used molecular motors actively pulling on the membrane to extract a nanotube. Here, we invert the system geometry; molecular motors are used as static anchors linking DOPC vesicles to a two-dimensional microt…
Multivalent interactions between deformable mesoscopic units are ubiquitous in biology, where membrane macromolecules mediate the interactions between neighbouring living cells and between cells and solid substrates. Lately, analogous artificial materials have been synthesised by functionalising the outer surface of compliant Brownian units, for example emulsion droplets and lipid vesicles, with selective linkers, in particular short DNA sequences. This development extended the range of applicability of DNA as a selective glue, originally applied to solid nano and colloidal particles. On very …
Understanding interactions between microparticles and lipid membranes is of increasing importance, especially for unraveling the influence of microplastics on our health and environment. Here, we study how a short-ranged adhesive force between microparticles and model lipid membranes causes membrane-mediated particle assembly. Using confocal microscopy, we observe the initial particle attachment to the membrane, then particle wrapping, and in rare cases spontaneous membrane tubulation. In the attached state, we measure that the particle mobility decreases by 26%. If multiple particles adhere t…
