Related papers: Polymer-induced tubulation in lipid vesicles
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…
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…
In this work, we study a phase-field model for curvature-driven pattern formation in biomembranes. The model is derived as a gradient flow of an energy functional that approximates the two-phase Canham--Helfrich energy. This leads to a…
A phase-field model that takes into account the bending energy of fluid vesicles is presented. The Canham-Helfrich model is derived in the sharp-interface limit. A dynamic equation for the phase-field has been solved numerically to find…
The Canham--Helfrich free-energy density for a lipid bilayer has drawn considerable attention. Aside from the mean and Gaussian curvatures, this free-energy density involves a spontaneous mean-curvature that encompasses information…
Biological membranes are known to form various structural motifs, from lipid bilayers to tubular filaments and networks facilitating e.g. adhesion and cell-cell communication. To understand the biophysical processes underpinning lipid-lipid…
The shape transformations of fluid membranes induced by curved protein rods are studied using meshless membrane simulations. The rod assembly at low rod density induces a flat membrane tube and oblate vesicle. It is found that the…
We have studied the pearling instability induced on hollow tubular lipid vesicles by hydrophilic polymers with hydrophobic side groups along the backbone. The results show that the polymer concentration is coupled to local membrane…
We present a general extension of a field-theoretic approach developed in earlier papers to the calculation of the free energy of symmetrically layered electrolytic systems which is based on the Sine-Gordon field theory for the Coulomb gas.…
The Canham--Helfrich free-energy density for a lipid bilayer involves the mean and Gaussian curvatures of the midsurface of the bilayer. The splay and saddle-splay moduli $\kappa$ and $\bar\kappa$ regulate the sensitivity of the free-energy…
The helix is a ubiquitous motif for biopolymers. We propose a heuristic, entropically based model that predicts helix formation in a system of hard spheres and semiflexible tubes. We find that the entropy of the spheres is maximized when…
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…
We investigate the phenomenon of protein induced tubulation of lipid bilayer membranes within a continuum framework using Monte Carlo simulations coupled with the Widom insertion technique to compute excess chemical potentials. Tubular…
We use a simple and efficient computer model to investigate the physical properties of bilayer membranes. The amphiphilic molecules are modeled as short rigid trimers with finite range pair interactions between them. The pair potentials…
The Helfrich energy is commonly used to model the elastic bending energy of lipid bilayers in membrane mechanics. The governing differential equations for certain geometric characteristics of the shape of the membrane can be obtained by…
Conical inclusions in a lipid bilayer generate an overall spontaneous curvature of the membrane that depends on concentration and geometry of the inclusions. Examples are integral and attached membrane proteins, viruses, and lipid domains.…
A common mechanism for intracellular transport is the use of controlled deformations of the membrane to create spherical or tubular buds. While the basic physical properties of homogeneous membranes are relatively well-known, the effects of…
A phase field model for dealing with shape instabilities in fluid membrane vesicles is presented. This model takes into account the Canham-Helfrich bending energy with spontaneous curvature. A dynamic equation for the phase-field is also…
Amphiphilic polymers in aqueous solutions can self-assemble to form bilayer membranes, and their elastic properties can be captured by the well-known Helfrich model involving several elastic constants. In this paper, we employ the…
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…