Related papers: Membrane tubulation by elongated and patchy nanopa…
Optomechanical manipulation of nanoparticles enabling ultimate control over their 3D motion is nowadays one of the most highly demanded links between optics, biology, medicine, microfluidics, etc., paving the way for a plethora of emerging…
We present a theory for the interaction between active particles and a passive flexible membrane. By explicitly solving for the pressure exerted by the active particles, we show that they reduce the membrane tension and bending modulus and…
We perform molecular dynamics simulations to understand the translational and rotational diffusion of Janus nanoparticles at the interface between two immiscible fluids. Considering spherical particles with different affinity to fluid…
Motivated by recent experiments on biomimetic membranes exposed to several aqueous phases, we theoretically study the morphology of a membrane in contact with a liquid droplet formed via aqueous phase separation. We concentrate on membranes…
We demonstrate that the formation of bicontinuous emulsions stabilized by interfacial particles (bijels) is more robust when nanoparticles rather than microparticles are used. Emulsification via spinodal demixing in the presence of nearly…
The wrapping of particles and vesicles by lipid bilayer membranes is a fundamental process in cellular transport and targeted drug delivery. Here, we investigate the wrapping behavior of nonspherical vesicles, such as ellipsoidal, prolate,…
We use numerical simulations to show how noninteracting hard particles binding to a deformable elastic shell may self-assemble into a variety of linear patterns. This is a result of the nontrivial elastic response to deformations of shells.…
Interactions mediated by the cell membrane between inclusions, such as membrane proteins or antimicrobial peptides, play important roles in their biological activity. They also constitute a fascinating challenge for physicists, since they…
Using molecular dynamics, we study the nucleation and stability of bulk nanobubble clusters. We study the formation, growth, and final size of bulk nanobubbles. We find that, as long as the bubble-bubble interspacing is small enough, bulk…
Recent advances in micro- and nano-technologies allow the construction of complex active systems from biological and synthetic materials. An interesting example is active vesicles, which consist of a membrane enclosing self-propelled…
One of the most promising applications in nanoscience is the design of new materials to improve water permeability and selectivity of nanoporous membranes. Understanding the molecular architecture behind these fascinating structures and how…
Fluid phase equilibria involving nano-dispersed phases, where at least one of the coexisting phases is confined to a small volume, are investigated by molecular dynamics simulation. Complementing previous studies on nanoscopic droplets,…
The ordering of nanoparticles into predetermined configurations is of importance to the design of advanced technologies. In this work, we moderate the surface anchoring against the bulk elasticity of liquid crystals to dynamically shape…
Tubular lattices are ubiquitous in nature and technology. Microtubules and nanotubes of all kinds act as important pillars of biological cells and the man-made nano-world. We show that when prestress is introduced in such structures,…
The adhesion of biomembranes is mediated by the binding of membrane-anchored receptor and ligand proteins. The proteins can only bind if the separation between apposing membranes is sufficiently close to the length of the protein complexes,…
Arrays of optically trapped nanoparticles have emerged as a promising platform for the study of complex non-equilibrium phenomena. Analogous to atomic many-body systems, one of the crucial ingredients is the ability to precisely control the…
Gaining access to the cell interior is fundamental for many applications, such as electrical recording, drug and biomolecular delivery. A very promising technique consists of culturing cells on nano/micro pillars. The tight adhesion and…
Self-assembly of nanoparticles at fluid-fluid interfaces is a promising route to fabricate functional materials from the bottom-up. However, directing and controlling particles into highly tunable and predictable structures -- while…
The self-assembly mechanism of one-end-open carbon nanotubes (CNTs) suspended in an aqueous solution was studied by molecular dynamics simulations. It was shown that two one-end-open CNTs with different diameters can coaxially self-assemble…
It has been recently shown that nanobubbles exhibit a remarkable and unexpected stability. The lifetime of nanobubbles, formed either within liquids or on hydrophobic surfaces, can exceed by more than 10 orders of magnitude the theoretical…