Related papers: Application of Self-Consistent Field Theory to Sel…
The elastic properties of a self-assembled bilayer membrane are studied using the self-consistent field theory, applied to a model system composed of flexible amphiphilic chains dissolved in hydrophilic polymeric solvents. Examining the…
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…
Binary mixtures of amphiphiles in solution can self-assemble into a wide range of structures when the two species individually form aggregates of different curvatures. A specific example of this is seen in solutions of lipid mixtures where…
The elastic property of membranes self-assembled from AB diblock and ABA triblock copolymers, as coarse-grained model of lipids and the bolalipids, are studied using the self-consistent field theory (SCFT). Specifically, solutions of the…
Self-consistent field theory is used to determine structural and energetic properties of metastable intermediates and unstable transition states involved in the standard stalk mechanism of bilayer membrane fusion. A microscopic model of…
Self-Consistent Field Theory is applied to a film of cylindrical-forming block copolymer subject to a surface field which tends to align the cylinders parallel to electrical plates, and to an external electric field tending to align them…
Recent developments in off-lattice self-consistent field theories for inhomogeneous complex fluids are reviewed. Particular emphasis is given to the treatment of intermolecular interactions and compressibility, to the role of fluctuations,…
We extend previous work on homogeneous bilayers to calculate the barriers to fusion of planar bilayers which contain two different amphiphiles, a lamellae-former and a hexagonal former, with different compositions of the twoin each leaf.…
The bending rigidity $k_c$ of bilayer vesicles self-assembled from amphiphilic diblock copolymers has been measured using single and dual-micropipet techniques. These copolymers are nearly a factor of 5 greater in hydrophobic membrane…
Bilayer membranes self-assembled from simple amphiphiles in solution always have a planar ground-state shape. This is a consequence of several internal relaxation mechanisms of the membrane and prevents the straightforward control of…
Cholesterol is known to modulate the structure and function of biological membranes. In this study, we use self-consistent field theory (SCFT) to investigate phospholipid/cholesterol bilayer membranes modeled with two types of diblock…
Diblock copolymers blended with homopolymer may self-assemble into spherical, cylindrical or lamellar aggregates. Transitions between these structures may be driven by varying the homopolymer molecular weight or the molecular weight or…
Under dehydration conditions, amphipathic Late Embryogenesis Abundant (LEA) proteins fold spontaneously from a random conformation into alpha-helical structures and this transition is promoted by the presence of membranes. To gain insight…
Membrane proteins and lipids can self-assemble into membrane protein polyhedral nanoparticles (MPPNs). MPPNs have a closed spherical surface and a polyhedral protein arrangement, and may offer a new route for structure determination of…
Amphiphiles are molecules which have both hydrophilic and hydrophobic parts. In water- and/or oil-like solvent, they self-assemble into extended sheet-like structures due to the hydrophobic effect. The free energy of an amphiphilic system…
We outline a concept of self-assembled soft matter devices based on micro-fluidics, which use surfactant bilayer membranes as their main building blocks, arrested in geometric structures provided by top-down lithography. Membranes form…
A self consistent field theory for compressible polymer mixtures is developed by introducing elements of classical density functional theory into the framework of the Helfand theory. It is then applied to study free surfaces of binary (A,B)…
The equilibrium properties of block copolymer micelles confined in polymer thin films are investigated using self-consistent field theory. The theory is based on a model system consisting of AB diblock copolymers and A homopolymers. Two…
This work presents a general and unified theory describing block copolymer self-assembly in the presence of free surfaces and nanoparticles in the context of Self-Consistent Filed Theory. Specifically, the derived theory applies to free and…
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…